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GRI INDEX 2020 - World Bank

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Page 1: GRI INDEX 2020 - World Bank

GRI INDEX 2020

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Page 2: GRI INDEX 2020 - World Bank

1 World Bank GRI Index 2020

This 2020 World Bank GRI Index is an inventory of the sustainability considerations used in World Bank lending and analytical services, as well as within its corporate practices. This sustainability disclosure index has been prepared in accordance with the Core option of the GRI Standards1. The GRI Index covers activities carried out during fiscal year 2020, from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the World Bank’s operations and staff activities through reduced travel, the extended shutdown of our offices, and a shift in staff health services. Where significant, these impacts have been noted in the report.

ABOUT THE WORLD BANKThe World Bank Group (WBG) plays a key role in global efforts to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It consists of five institutions: the World Bank, which includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Working together in over 140 countries, these institutions provide financing, technical advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent development challenges.

The GRI Index reports on the activities of the World Bank (IBRD and IDA). Except for their member countries’ eligibility for support and terms of lending, IBRD and IDA are tightly integrated and work as a single unit. Certain practices and projects, however, span across the World Bank Group and are therefore cited as such in the text.

DEFINING THE REPORTMethodology for Determining Materiality The topics deemed relevant for disclosure were identified by assessing annual corporate priorities outlined by the institution’s Board and President, considering stakeholder input, as well as ascertaining the sustainability impacts of carrying out the World Bank’s mission and vision. Stakeholder feedback was gathered via three key channels: the Country Opinion Survey (COS) Program, civil society feedback, and queries from Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) research groups.

To determine if a GRI aspect is material for the World Bank to report on, an assessment is carried out based on the potential impacts on the Bank's business, and sustainability impacts stemming from its business. The business-case category evaluates potential reputational risks to the organization, the importance to stakeholders (based on the above sources), the linkages with the Bank's mission and goals and those identified as material in the World Bank Corporate Responsibility Strategic Plan. The sustainability impact refers to environmental and social criteria, as outlined by the Natural Step (see Box below), namely, material extracted from the earth's crust; the accumulation of persistent or toxic emissions; extractive industry or destructive processes; and the extent to which people's ability to meet their needs is undermined. To ensure representation of sustainable development, an additional criterion was added to give preference to impact on the local economy.

GRI INDEX 2020

1. The Core option indicates that a report contains the minimum information needed to understand the nature of an organization, its material topics and related impacts, and how these are managed.

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World Bank GRI Index 20202

The Natural Step framework, which complements the GRI, defines three basic “system conditions” that must be met if we want to maintain the essential environmental services that sustain human society. Further, because human action is the primary cause of the rapid change we see in the natural environment today, the framework includes a fourth system condition that focuses on the social and economic considerations that drive those actions.

For the purposes of this exercise, the sustainability principles of the Natural Step are applied by asking: (1) Does this aspect draw upon material extracted from the earth’s crust and lead to accumulation of persistent or toxic emissions, or is it an extractive industry or involve destructive processes? (2) Does this aspect undermine the extent of people’s ability to meet their needs? (3) Does this aspect impact the local economy?

The Reporting Principles for defining report content, outlined by GRI, have been applied to identify, prioritize, and validate the information to be disclosed by considering the World Bank’s activities, impacts, and the substantive expectations and interests of its stakeholders. Each criterion above is given a point, and a threshold is set to prioritize GRI aspects to include in the report, as determined and validated by an internal focus group that met in May 2020. The World Bank reports on each topic that garners 4 or more points, deeming them to be material topics.

2020 RESULTS: WHAT IS MATERIAL?Boundaries are defined based on where the impacts occur for a material topic. Indirect impacts lay within the “operational” boundary. Direct impacts fall within the “corporate” boundary. For each material topic, boundaries are specified in the management approach disclosures.

Impacts external to the organization [“operational boundary”]

“Operational boundary” denotes indirect impacts that occur in member countries as a result of World Bank lending and analytical services and may not be directly controlled by the Bank’s management. Impacts stemming from the World Bank’s work with clients are specified as “operational impacts.”

Impacts internal to the organization [“corporate boundary”]

“Corporate boundary” refers to the impact from activities over which the Bank has direct control, such as operating World Bank facilities and managing staff members.

Operational impactThe World Bank’s most pertinent sustainability impacts from financial and technical services to clients can be summarized in the following.

GRI-RELATED ASPECTS:

1. Economic Performance: Creating and distributing economic value is part of the mission of eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity; shareholders and investors care about the sustainable economic performance of the institution.

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World Bank GRI Index 20203

2. Indirect Economic Impacts: Indirect economic impacts are an essential aspect of the Bank's goal of reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

3. Biodiversity: Through lending and grant support to client countries, the World Bank Group is one of the largest international funding sources for biodiversity worldwide.

4. Human Rights / Child Labor / Indigenous Rights: The World Bank promotes human rights through its projects, for example, improving poor people's access to health, education, food, and water; promoting the participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision making, strengthening the accountability and transparency of governments to their citizens; supporting justice reform; and fighting corruption.

5. Local Communities: The World Bank recognizes that community-designed development approaches and actions are important elements of an effective poverty reduction and sustainable development strategy.

6. Anti-corruption: Critical to the World Bank's mission to alleviate extreme poverty is a well-functioning public sector that delivers quality public services consistent with citizen preferences and fosters private sector- and market-led growth while managing its fiscal resources in a prudent manner. Opinion leaders in the Bank's client countries have listed anti-corruption as one of their development priorities.

Corporate ImpactThe most material aspects of the Bank’s internal operations include the following:

1. Staff are the World Bank’s greatest asset. They bring a wide range of perspectives to bear on poverty-reduction issues and emerging development challenges and are critical to the effectiveness of the Bank’s core operational and knowledge services. Staff-related indicators are pulled from the following GRI aspect categories: Economic Performance, Market Presence, Employment, Occupational Health and Safety, Training and Education, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, and Nondiscrimination.

2. The Bank recognizes that reducing its own corporate environmental impacts is in line with the institutional mission to reduce poverty, as environmental degradation affects the world’s poor disproportionately. Increasing the efficiency of how the organization runs its business–through facility-level and staff behavior changes–reduces natural-resource waste and decreases the cost of day-to-day operations. Key aspects related to the Bank’s environmental footprint include: Materials, Energy, Water, Emissions, Effluents and Waste, Biodiversity, and Procurement Practices.

Questions and comments about the GRI Index should be addressed to the World Bank Corporate Responsibility Program at [email protected].

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World Bank GRI Index 20204

LIST OF ACRONYMSAED

AHC

APEC

CCAP

CDP

CEN

CODE

COGAM

COS

CPF

CSO

CSPF

DAC

DSSI

EBC

EC

ED

ERC

ESA

Alternate Executive Director

Anti-Harassment Coordinator

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

Climate Change Action Plan

Carbon Disclosure Project

Country Engagement Note

Board Committee on Development Effectiveness

Board Committee on Governance and Executive Directors' Administrative Matters

Country Opinion Survey

Country Partnership Framework

civil society organization

Civil Society Policy Forum

Development Assistance Committee

Debt Service Suspension Initiative

Ethics and Business Conduct Department

European Commission

Executive Director

Enterprise Risk Management Committee

Environmental and Social Assessment

ESF

ESG

ESS

EUR

FCV

FSC

FTE

GAAP

GBP

GDP

GEF

GFDRR

GHG

GRS

GWP

HRD

HSD

IAD

IBRD

Environmental and Social Framework

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Environmental and Social Standard

euro

Fragile, Conflict, and Violence

Forest Stewardship Council

full-time equivalent

generally accepted accounting principles

British pound sterling

gross domestic product

Global Environment Facility

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

greenhouse gas

Grievance Redress Service

Global Warming Potential

Human Resources Vice Presidency

Health and Safety Directorate

Internal Audit Vice Presidency

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

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World Bank GRI Index 20205

ICR

ICSID

IDA

IEG

IFC

IMF

INCAF

INT

IPF

JCR

MD&A

MDB

MIGA

OECD

OHS

OLC

OPCS

OYW

Implementation Completion and Results Report

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

International Development Association

Independent Evaluation Group

International Finance Corporation

International Monetary Fund

International Network on Conflict and Fragility

Integrity Vice Presidency

Investment Project Financing

Board Joint Committee on Remuneration of Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors

Management Discussion & Analysis

multilateral development bank

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Occupational Health and Safety

Open Learning Campus

Operations Policy and County Services

One Young World

PPE

RIMP

RMS

RWS

SAC

SCD

SCD

SDG

SEK

SEP

UN

WBG

personal protective equipment

Refugee Investment and Matchmaking Platform

Results Measurement System

reduced work schedule

Sanctions Advisory Committee

Systematic Country Diagnostic

Systematic Country Diagnostic

Sustainable Development Goals

Swedish krona

Stakeholder Engagement Plan

United Nations

World Bank Group

NOTE: All dollar amounts are US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

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World Bank GRI Index 20206

Economic Disclosures

Material Topics Disclosed

Environmental DisclosuresGeneral Disclosures Social Disclosures

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Organizational Profile ...................7

Strategy .........................................12

Ethics and Integrity .....................14

Governance ....................................15

Stakeholder Engagement ...........18

Reporting Practice ...................... 25

Economic Performance .............. 26

Indirect Economic Impacts .......30

Procurement Practices ...............31

Anti-corruption ........................... 33

Materials ....................................... 37

Energy ............................................39

Water ..............................................41

Biodiversity .................................. 42

Emissions ...................................... 43

Effluents and Waste ................... 46

Human Resources ....................... 48

OH&S .............................................50

Staff Learning ..............................56

Diversity and Inclusion ..............59

Nondiscrimination .......................61

Child Labor .................................... 62

Indigenous Peoples ..................... 64

Human Rights ..............................66

Local Communities ..................... 67

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GRI 100 General Disclosures

MATERIAL TOPICS: ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE, STRATEGY, ETHICS AND INTEGRITY, GOVERNANCE, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, REPORTING PRACTICE

102-1:  NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION

The World Bank consists of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. It is part of the World Bank Group, which includes the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. For more information, see http://www.worldbank.org/about.

102-2:  ACTIVITIES, BRANDS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES

Established in 1944, the World Bank works in every major area of development. We provide a wide array of financial products and technical assistance, and we help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face.

The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its work is anchored in two goals: to end extreme poverty—reducing the share of the global population living in extreme poverty to no more than 3 percent by the year 2030; and to promote shared prosperity—promot-ing income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population. Both goals must be met in a sustainable manner.

To attain its goals, the World Bank offers:

Financial Products and Services

• Since 1947, the World Bank has funded more than 12,000 development projects, via traditional loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing countries. These support a wide array of investments in such areas as education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. Some of our projects are co-financed with governments, other multilateral institutions, commercial banks, export credit agencies, and private sector investors. 

• We also provide or facilitate financing through trust fund partnerships with bilateral and multilateral donors. Many partners have asked the Bank to help manage initiatives that address needs across a wide range of sectors and developing regions.

General Disclosures

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Innovative Knowledge Sharing

• We offer support to developing countries through policy advice, research and analysis, and technical assistance. Our analytical work often underpins World Bank financing and helps inform developing countries’ own investments. In addition, we support capacity development in the countries we serve. We also sponsor, host, or participate in many conferences and forums on development issues, often in collaboration with partners.

• The World Bank’s Access to Information Policy was the catalyst for initiatives such as Open Data, the Open Knowledge Repository, and Open Finances. The World Bank’s Open Learning Campus (OLC) is a destination for development learning that builds the leadership and technical capabilities of development stakehold-ers-partners, practitioners, policy makers, staff, and the public. 

For more information, see www.worldbank.org/en/about/what-we-do and www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/products-and-services.

102-3:  LOCATION OF HEADQUARTERS

The World Bank’s headquarters are located in Washington, DC, in the United States.

102-4:  COUNTRIES WHERE THE ORGANIZATION OPERATES AND HAS SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONS

The World Bank is a global organization. IBRD is owned by 189 member countries and IDA by 173. World Bank staff are located in our 145 country offices, located. There are 157 World Bank facilities worldwide. For a complete list of locations, see https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/contacts.

102-5:  OWNERSHIP AND LEGAL FORM

The World Bank is not a bank in the traditional sense, but a unique partnership committed to reducing poverty and supporting development. IBRD is governed by and works with its 189 member countries to achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies, and to find solutions to pressing regional and global problems in economic development and other important areas, such as environmental sustainability. Low-interest loans are financed by World Bank bonds issued in the capital markets, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services.

IDA works with its 173 member countries offering financing to the world’s poorest countries to reduce poverty by providing concessional loans (called credits) and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities, and improve people’s living conditions.  

Each of the World Bank organizations operates according to procedures established by its Articles of Agreement. The agreements outline the conditions of membership and the general principles of organization, management, and operations.

For a full list of member countries, see https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members.

For IBRD and IDA Articles of Agreement, see https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/articles-of-agreement.

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102-6:  MARKETS SERVED

The World Bank's work is distributed throughout the following regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

For more information, on the Bank’s work by region, sector, and themes see https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit.

102-7:  SCALE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Total World Bank commitments: World Bank lending commitments for development support totaled $59.1 billion in fiscal year 2020.

IBRD commitments and resources: New lending commitments by IBRD totaled $28 billion in fiscal year 2020. IBRD raised U.S. dollar equivalent $75 billion in FY20 ($54 billion in FY19). IBRD’s equity comprises primarily paid-in capital and reserves.  

IDA commitments and resources: IDA commitments amounted to $31.1 billion in fiscal year 2020, including $22.4 billion in credits, $8 billion in grants, and $717 million in guarantees. IDA is financed largely by contributions from partner governments. Additional financing comes from transfers from IBRD’s net income, grants from IFC, and borrowers’ repayments of earlier IDA credits. Total resources for the IDA18 Replenishment, which covers fiscal years 2018-20, amounted to $52.9 billion in Special Drawing Rights (equivalent to $75 billion). 

Total employees: The World Bank Group employs a total of 12,394 full-time staff and 5,521 temporary staff as of June 30, 2020.

For more information, see the: World Bank Annual Report.

102-8:  INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEES AND OTHER WORKERS

In fiscal year 2020, the World Bank employed 12,394 full-time staff, of whom 53 percent were female. The Bank also employed 5,521 consultants (temporary staff) over the same period. Short-term consultants are reported on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis, which is calculated using the total number of days paid to short-term consul-tants divided by 220.

Temporary staff (short-term consultants) accounted for 29.5 percent of our total workforce (permanent and temporary) of 17,915 as of end FY20. About 56 percent of our staff were located in the US, with the rest spread out in over 140 locations globally.

In total, 53 staff were on a Reduced Work Schedule (RWS) in FY20, of whom 13 are male and 40 (75%) female.

There are no significant variations in the categories described above. 

102-9:  SUPPLY CHAIN

Corporate Procurement: Each year, around $2 billion in goods and services are purchased by the World Bank Group globally. Major contracts include consulting services, travel, information technology and telecommunications, health and benefits, and construction services. All vendors are required to adhere to the World Bank Corporate Procurement Policy.

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For more information, see: http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/corporate-procurement.

Operational Procurement: World Bank projects have a global footprint, and therefore a geographically diverse supply base. Bank operations have varied supply chain characteristics depending on the nature of the items being procured and location (for instance, supply chains in fragile states have unique market features). In general terms, about 70 percent of the Bank’s projects by value are infrastructure-related, typically transport, water, and energy projects. 

In fiscal year 2020, the Bank supported its borrowers in procurement from 2,285 different suppliers; about $7.13 billion was paid to these suppliers. The Bank does not currently track subcontractors beyond the primary provider; however, the majority of these contracts by value are for infrastructure projects and, as such, it is estimated that about 18,000 subcontractors could be involved beyond the primary supply chain (a factor of 8-10 subcontractors to one primary supplier). 

102-10: SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE ORGANIZATION’S SIZE, STRUCTURE, OWNERSHIP, OR SUPPLY CHAIN

There were no significant changes to the World Bank’s organization size, structure, or ownership. 

Corporate Procurement: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in some changes to the WBG’s supply chain, including modification of contracts for vendors who provided on-site services to the WBG, such as food services vendors, security contractors, and others. In addition, Corporate Procurement facilitated the sourcing of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our staff and clients to enable a safe return to work. 

Operational supply chain: The Bank’s operational supply chain is truly diverse and global and has remained stable overall. As old projects conclude and new ones begin, there are fluctuations in the major supply chains depending on project procurement awarded. In the main geographic supply chains (supplier-registered locations) of fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, the top three supplying countries (supply chains) are China, India, and Turkey in all four years. France is in the list of top 10 supplying countries every year, with Brazil, Germany, Bangladesh, and Italy entering the list in two out of the last four years. As the Bank’s operational portfolio is highly focused on infrastructure, the supply chains can vary depending on the results of one large project award.

For more information, see the new Procurement Framework.

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Top supplying countries for World Bank Operational Procurement

102-11:  PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE OR APPROACH

The World Bank applies the precautionary approach through its Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), effective as of October 2018, as well as its previously existing suite of safeguard policies, which continue to apply to projects approved with concept notes before October 2018. The ESF and the Bank’s existing environ-mental and social safeguard policies are cornerstones of its support to sustainable poverty reduction. The objectives of these policies and standards are to prevent and mitigate harm to people and their environment in the development process. They provide guidelines for Bank and borrower staff in the identification, preparation, and implementation of programs and projects.

The effectiveness and development impact of programs and projects supported by the Bank have substantially increased as a result of attention to these policies. They provide a platform for the participation of stakeholders in project design, along with being an important instrument for building ownership among local populations.

102-12:  EXTERNAL INITIATIVES

The World Bank is committed to helping developing countries end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. The Bank is a partner of choice for countries seeking to reach many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September 2015, particularly in the context of financing, data, and supporting implementation. The World Bank is also an active member of many external initiatives, such as the UN Environmental Management Group and the Multilateral Financial Institutions Working Group on the Environment. As a UN-specialized agency, the Bank supports the mission of the UN and the multilateral agreements for which the Bank acts as an implementing agency, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Multilateral Fund for the Montreal Protocol, and the Convention to Combat Desertification. These facilities have enabled the Bank to become the largest funder of projects in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. 

Rank FY17 FY18 FY19 FY201. China India China China

2. India China India India

3, Turkey Turkey Turkey Turkey

4, Belarus Spain Spain The Netherlands

5. Indonesia France France Nigeria

6, France Italy Brazil France

7. Bangladesh Poland Italy Japan

8. Germany Bangladesh Vietnam Egypt

9. Pakistan Argentina Portugal Vietnam

10 Russian Federation Brazil South Africa Germany

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102-13: MEMBERSHIP OF ASSOCIATIONS

The World Bank Group is not a formal member of industry or a business association, or a national or international advocacy organization, but it works with a wide range of civil society organizations, foundations, and private sector partners on multiple global issues. It is also an observer in the UN Development Group. These partnerships build support for the Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. The Bank partners with key stakeholders on a number of programs and on specific development challenges facing our partner countries, such as financial inclusion, forced displacement, and climate change, as well as human capital investments, including education and health.

102-14: STATEMENT FROM SENIOR DECISION-MAKER

Refer to the World Bank Annual Report 2020 for messages from David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, and a statement from the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.

102-15: KEY IMPACTS, RISKS, AND OPPORTUNITIES

The work of the World Bank is anchored in its goals: to end extreme poverty by reducing the share of the global population living on less than $1.90 a day and to promote shared prosperity by increasing the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of people in every country. Both goals must be met in a sustainable manner.

IMPACTS: The World Bank seeks to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. Our work is guided by the Forward Look: A Vision for the World Bank Group in 2030, endorsed by our shareholders in 2016, as well as a historic capital package for IBRD and IFC, agreed upon in 2018. World Bank-supported project impacts and results can be found online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/results.

RISKS: As a cooperative institution, IBRD seeks not to maximize profit but to earn enough income to ensure its financial strength and sustain its development activities. Of fiscal year 2020 allocable net income, the Executive Directors approved the allocation of $950 million to the General Reserve and recommended to the Boards of Governors the transfer of $431 million to the Surplus. The transfer to the Surplus includes $331 million, reflecting the amount produced by the formula-based approach for transfers to IDA from allocable income for fiscal year 2020. Management and the Boards proposed to hold this amount in the Surplus, as a measure of prudence in view of the current uncertain outlook due to the COVID-19 crisis, so as to retain the option of subsequently deciding to use those funds to strengthen its reserves in a downside scenario. As part of its lending, borrowing, and investment activities, IBRD is exposed to market, counterparty, country credit, and operational risks. The World Bank Group’s Chief Risk Officer leads the risk oversight function, independently reports to the Boards on an ongoing basis, and supports the institutional decision-mak-ing process via dedicated risk committees. In addition, IBRD has put in place a strong risk management framework, which supports management in its oversight functions. The framework is designed to enable and support IBRD in achieving its goals in a financially sustainable manner. One summary measure of IBRD’s risk profile is the ratio of equity to loans, which is closely managed in line with its financial and risk outlook. This ratio stood at 22.8 percent as of June 30, 2020.

To download the IBRD Financial Report and IDA Financial Report, visit: https://financesapp.worldbank.org/summaryinfo/overview.

PRIORITIES: World Bank headquarters and country-based staff work together with IFC, MIGA, and country partners to prioritize the World Bank Group’s program of financial, analytical, advisory, and convening support, based on the Bank Group’s comparative advantage and the client’s priorities, and in response to development challenges highlighted in a Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD). The SCD identifies the barriers to eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity within 

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a country and is undertaken by the Bank Group before developing a new partnership framework with a country. The diagnostic guides the development of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which outlines the strategic interventions and support on which the Bank Group and partner country will engage. This SCD was introduced in July 2014; in fiscal year 2020, the Bank Group prepared SCDs in 11 countries and new CPFs in 11 countries.

The Bank is implementing a significant program to support client countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them cope with the health, social, and economic impacts and build conditions for a fast, sustainable, and resilient recovery worldwide. While prioritizing the COVID-19 response, the Bank will continue efforts to deliver on other interventions to support the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity and the key priorities and commitments of the IBRD capital package, the IDA19 replenishment, and the FCV strategy. These commitments will result in substantial program growth in priority areas, especially in poorer and smaller countries and those affected by FCV. They will also support critical themes, including: broadening access to critical infrastructure, digital financial services and social protection; enhancing human capital; promoting growth and development of the private sector; promoting good governance and the rule of law, as well as debt and investment transparency; addressing climate change and low-carbon goals; and building resilience to exogenous shocks.

OPPORTUNITIES: Fiscal year 2020 was witness to ongoing impacts to the financial resources for both IBRD and IDA, which are expected to open new opportunities for the World Bank to support its client member countries.

In fiscal year 2020, IBRD raised $75 billion through its triple-A rating and strong standing in the markets to support the Bank’s mandate and help clients manage risk and build resilience. In April 2020, to support our efforts to help countries address COVID-19, IBRD raised $15 billion equivalent through sustainable development bonds over a three-day period, including a five-year $8 billion bond—the largest ever issued by a supranational. IDA supports the world’s poorest countries, many of which face severe challenges from COVID-19. As part of its funding activities, IDA also issues bonds in the international capital markets and raised medium and long-term debt of $5 billion during fiscal year 2020. This year saw debut issuance in additional currencies, such as the British pound sterling (GBP), euro (EUR), and Swedish krona (SEK). IDA also has a triple-A rating and continues to expand into new markets. 

Every three years, development partners meet to review IDA’s policies, assess its financial capacity, agree on the amount of financing for the next replenishment period, and commit to additional contributions of equity that are required to meet IDA’s objectives and development goals. The replenishment process for IDA19, which covers fiscal years 2021-23, began in November 2018 and was finalized in December 2019. 

IDA19 is comprised of an $82 billion envelope to finance projects from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, presenting a 3 percent increase in real terms compared to IDA18. Of this total, $23.5 billion comes from donor contributions and the remainder from repayments of outstanding IDA loans, contributions from the Bank, and financing raised from the capital markets. The funding will allow IDA to continue helping countries deal with the challenges posed by climate change, gender inequality, and situations of fragility, conflict, and violence, while also reinforcing support for job creation and economic transformation, good governance, and accountable institutions. IDA19 will also tackle cross-cutting development challenges, such as enhancing debt sustainability and transparency, harnessing and adapting to transformative digital technology, promoting inclusion of those living with disabilities, and investing in human capital. While the COVID-19 pandemic requires innovative responses, particularly during the IDA19 period, IDA remains committed to countries’ long-term development challenges. 

In April 2020, the Bank Group, along with the IMF, called for the suspension of bilateral debt service payments from IDA countries to ensure they have the liquidity needed to tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19 and to allow for an assessment of their financing needs. Leaders of the G20 nations endorsed the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, suspending bilateral debt service payments by poor countries beginning May 1, 2020. In June 2020, we disclosed new information on the creditor country composition of the projected annual debt service payments of all 73 countries eligible for relief under this initiative through an online portal that highlights the potential savings for each eligible country, both in dollar terms and as a percentage of GDP.

For more information on the World Bank Group Strategy: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16095

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For more information on the World Bank Group’s Forward Look: https://www.devcommittee.org/sites/dc/files/download/Documents/2019-04/DC2019-0003-PIBRDIFC%20capital%20package%204-13.pdf

For more information about IBRD and IDA funding programs: https://treasury.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/treasury/ida

For more information on progress toward corporate targets: http://scorecard.worldbank.org/

102-16  VALUES, PRINCIPLES, STANDARDS, AND NORMS OF BEHAVIOR

The World Bank recognizes the importance of a positive organizational culture in attracting, retaining, and motivating staff to contribute their best in pursuit of the mission. Organizational culture is built on the foundation of a shared set of values, and in fiscal year 2019, the Bank integrated a refreshed set of core values to reflect the behaviors agreed upon by staff and management to be most critical in driving the organization's performance and fostering a healthy work environment. The revised core values—impact, integrity, respect, teamwork, and innovation—have been brought to life by embedding them into core HR processes, from recruitment to perfor-mance and talent management.

Values: The World Bank Group Core Values, which define how staff engage with partners and each other, are: 

• Impact - We help our clients solve their greatest development challenges.

• Integrity - We do what is right.

• Respect - We care for our people, our clients, our partners, and our planet.

• Teamwork - We work together to achieve our goals.

• Innovation - We learn and adapt to find better ways of doing things. 

Code of Ethics and Conduct: Adherence to high ethical standards is specified in contracts with employees, Board officials, and business partners. A new Bank Group Code of Ethics has been delayed due to the COVID -19 pandemic and will be launched in fiscal year 2021 in line with the new Core Values. Staff members are required to uphold World Bank Group Staff Rules as a condition of employment. There is a separate Code of Conduct for Board officials. Section 1(c) of the Code for Board Officials requires them to sign the code document upon assuming duty and deposit it with the Ethics Committee of the Board. Business partners are informed of ethics expecta-tions through a separate document.

For more information, see Code of Conduct for vendors and vendor employees.

Sexual Harassment: In May 2019, the Bank Group launched an action plan to prevent and address sexual harassment. The action plan will be monitored and evaluated by a staff-led working group on a biannual basis. Most of the proposed measures have now been implemented or are underway. To enhance trust and accountability, the Bank Group’s Ethics and Business Conduct Department (EBC) has made increased transparency a key factor in its strategy. Since May 2019, EBC regularly publishes a short summary of all the cases substantiated by EBC. Staff can read a description of the case, the type of sanction, the grade level of the subject as well as whether it took place at headquarters or in a country office. Since January 2020, all allegations of sexual harassment are first reviewed by an Anti-Harassment Coordinator, who addresses the matter directly or refers it to other relevant services, for instance forwarding cases for investigation where misconduct is likely to be substantiated. In addition, a mandatory e-learning training on preventing and addressing sexual harassment is completed by every new staff member. During fiscal year 2021, a new e-learning on sexual harassment will be rolled out among all staff.

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Governance: The head of World Bank Group Ethics and Business Conduct Department is the Chief Ethics Officer, who reports directly to the World Bank Group President and to the Board of Directors annually. For more information on EBC, see https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/ethics_and_business_conduct.

102-17: MECHANISMS FOR ADVICE AND CONCERNS ABOUT ETHICS

The World Bank encourages staff members (both past and present) to seek ethics-related advice and report suspected misconduct and other ethical issues through its EBC department. Modes of seeking advice include: (1) the Ethics Helpline (800-261-7497), which is available 24 hours and administered in multiple languages by an outside vendor; (2) email ([email protected]); and (3) office hours during which employees can seek advice directly from EBC team members. Advisory requests are treated with the highest degree of confidentiality. Requests for advice may be made anonymously. For reports of suspected misconduct, all information is confidential and subject to disclosure on a strict need-to-know basis. Anonymous complaints are accepted. 

There were 1,291 requests for advice in fiscal year 2020. In about 92 percent of the cases, answers were provided within two business days. The most frequently received queries concerned a staff member’s outside activities and employment, future or former employment, or close relatives or supervisory relationships. In fiscal year 2020, 281 allegations of misconduct were received. The most frequently received involved allegations of harassment, non-compliance with rules, and sexual harassment, on par with fiscal year 2019. Most allegations were reviewed and addressed after intake or initial review. During FY20, 13 allegations resulted in the submis-sion of an investigative report to the Vice President of Human Resources, who has the authority to determine if misconduct occurred and to impose sanctions. 

The Bank Group has a non-retaliation policy that protects against any direct or indirect detrimental action threatened or taken because a person engaged in a protected activity. Retaliation is considered misconduct and is investigated and sanctioned accordingly.

In addition, the Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency works to improve compliance with corruption-related policies. The unit trains staff to detect and deter fraud and corruption and investigates allegations in activities conducted or financed by the institutions of the World Bank Group, as well as allegations of significant fraud and corruption involving staff. Details are outlined for staff in the World Bank Group Code of Conduct.

102-18:  GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

The World Bank is a development institution in which 189 member countries are shareholders. Member countries govern the Bank through the Boards of Governors and the Board of Executive Directors. The Boards of Governors consists of one Governor and one alternate Governor appointed by each member country. The office is usually held by the country’s minister of finance, governor of its central bank, or a senior official of similar rank. The Governors and alternates serve for terms of five years and can be reappointed. Twenty-five of the Governors are members of the Development Committee, a high-level advisory body for the World Bank Group institutions.

The Governors delegate specific duties to the 25 Executive Directors, who sit as a resident Board of Directors in Washington, DC The five largest shareholders each appoint an Executive Director, while other member countries are represented by elected Executive Directors. 

Together, the Boards of Governors and the Executive Directors make all major decisions for the organization, including policy, financial, and membership issues. In addition to representing their own countries and others they are elected to represent Executive Directors serve on one or more of five standing committees: 

1. Audit Committee,

2. Budget Committee,

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3. Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE),

4. Human Resources Committee, and

5. Committee on Governance and Executive Directors’ Administrative Matters (COGAM).

The committees help the Board execute its oversight responsibilities through in-depth examinations of policies and practices, overseeing and making decisions about the Bank’s policies and procedures, financial condition, risk-management and assessment processes, adequacy of governance and controls, and effectiveness of development and poverty-reduction activities. In addition, the Ethics Committee provides guidance on matters covered by the Code of Conduct for Board officials. These committees function independently of all Bank Group executive officers. 

The CODE of the Board of Executive Directors supports the Board in assessing the development effectiveness of the Bank Group, providing guidance on strategic direc-tions of each member institution, monitoring the quality and results of Bank Group operations, and overseeing or liaising on the work of the entities that are part of the Bank Group’s accountability framework, including with regard to economic, environmental, and social topics. 

102-20:  EXECUTIVE-LEVEL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL TOPICS

The World Bank Group integrates the principles of sustainable environmental and social development into its work with clients across all sectors and regions. This is implemented by different global practices and regional units, including the Vice Presidencies for Infrastructure, Sustainable Development, Human Development, and Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions. 

Vice Presidents report to their respective Managing Director: Managing Director, Operations IBRD/IDA or Managing Director, Development Policy & Partnerships, who in turn report to the President. The Board of Governors is the highest governance body, and the President is the Chair of the Board. 

See the organizational chart here.

102-21:  CONSULTING STAKEHOLDERS ON ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL TOPICS

There are a range of processes for stakeholder consultations on economic, environmental, and social topics, at national, regional, and global levels. In most cases, consultation is delegated to World Bank Group management and staff, who integrate feedback into operational design, and report on consultations to the Board of Directors.

102-22:  COMPOSITION OF THE HIGHEST GOVERNANCE BODY AND ITS COMMITTEES

All powers of the World Bank Group are vested in the Boards of Governors. Governors are the only group which can decide on the following: 

• Admit and suspend members,

• Increase or decrease the authorized capital stock,

• Determine the distribution of the net income of the World Bank,

•   Decide appeals from interpretations of the Articles of Agreement by the Executive Directors,

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• Make formal comprehensive arrangements to cooperate with other international organizations,

• Suspend permanently the operations of the World Bank,

•   Increase the number of elected Executive Directors, and 

• Approve amendments to the Articles of Agreement.

All other decisions are delegated to the Executive Directors. 

For more information on the Boards of Governors and Executive Directors, reference GRI 102-18 above.

102-23: CHAIR OF THE HIGHEST GOVERNANCE BODY

The Chair of the Board of Executive Directors serves as the President of the organization, as set out in the World Bank’s Articles of Agreement, Section 5.

102-24: NOMINATING AND SELECTING THE HIGHEST GOVERNANCE BODY

The nomination of Governors of the World Bank depends on the political systems of the individual member governments. The main criterion is that a Governor is a minister of finance, development, or another national ministry. Other criteria like diversity, independence, and expertise may factor into the independent, govern-ment-led decision-making process. The nomination of Executive Directors also depends on the decisions and political systems of the individual member governments. 

The World Bank has no direct influence over Governor or Executive Director nominations, which is a sovereign matter related to countries’ internal governance and decision-making.

102-26: ROLE OF HIGHEST GOVERNANCE BODY IN SETTING PURPOSE, VALUES, AND STRATEGY

Governors of the World Bank meet twice per year to discuss issues related to the organization’s purpose and strategy to eliminate extreme poverty and reduce inequal-ity in a manner that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.

See www.worldbank.org/devcom.

102-35: REMUNERATION POLICIES

Governors: The World Bank Articles of Agreement state that Governors (the highest governance body) “...shall serve as such without compensation from the Bank, but the Bank shall pay them reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings.”

Board: Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors are entitled to a remuneration, determined by the Boards of Governors. A standing Joint (International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group) Committee on Remuneration of Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors (JCR) is constituted annually and makes recommendations to the Boards of Governors on the salary and benefits of EDs and their Alternate Executive Directors (AEDs). 

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Senior Management: To recruit and retain highly qualified staff, the World Bank Group has developed a compensation and benefits system designed to be interna-tionally competitive, to reward performance, and to consider the special needs of a multinational and largely expatriate staff. The Bank Group’s staff salary structure is reviewed annually by the Executive Directors and, if warranted, is adjusted based on a comparison with salaries paid by private financial and industrial firms and by representative public sector agencies in the U.S. market. Senior Management salaries are disclosed in the Annual Report.

102-40: LIST OF STAKEHOLDER GROUPS

As a global employer, the World Bank consults and collaborates with thousands of stakeholders throughout the world. The World Bank categorizes stakeholders into two main groups: internal and external.

Internal stakeholders include shareholder governments (the Boards of Governors), Executive Directors and Senior Management, and Bank employees.

External stakeholders include multilateral and bilateral development organizations, parliamentarians, civil society, faith-based organizations, academics, professionals, central banks and other official sector institutions and other investors in World Bank bonds, credit rating agencies, financial institutions, ESG research firms, social entre-preneurs; beneficiaries of Bank-supported activities, and international, national, and local media, among others.

The World Bank Group works with appropriate representatives from governments, the private sector, communities, Indigenous groups, or civil society organizations to access stakeholders who would otherwise go unheard. Many Bank Group consultations are also public in that options are provided for interested parties to submit comments, most often electronically or through public hearings.

102-41: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

At the World Bank Group, the percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements is zero. However, the Bank Group Staff Association, founded in 1972, represents and protects the rights and interests of all (that is, 100 percent) of the staff as part of its mandate. The Staff Association negotiates with the Human Resources Vice Presidency, Senior Management, line management, and the Executive Directors to ensure the interests of staff are met. The Staff Association is not a union and does not engage in collective bargaining. It serves a critical role by representing the rights of all staff, as provided in Staff Rule 10.01. Currently, there are 12,393 staff who are members of the Staff Association, and 90 country offices have established Country Office Staff Associations. 

102-42: IDENTIFYING AND SELECTING STAKEHOLDERS

The World Bank works with diverse stakeholders who share the commitment to advancing the Bank Group’s goals—to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. Continuous engagement with all the stakeholders is essential and challenging, given the wide spectrum of internal and external stakeholders, ranging from donor and client governments to civil society and media to the poorest and most marginalized communities.

In the context of World Bank-supported activities, stakeholders are anyone who is in some way—positively or negatively—impacted by the potential outcomes of these activities. The stakeholders vary, so what impacts a segment or segments of this group depends on the scope, mobilized resources, and outcomes of these activi-ties. For example, for Bank-supported activities, the Guidance Note on Bank Multi-Stakeholder Engagement provides more details. It provides guidance to staff on good practice and mandate issues in relation to the Bank’s work on multi-stakeholder engagement. Guidance on good practice ensures the effectiveness of Bank 

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interventions and that stakeholder engagement is performed in a manner consistent with the Bank’s mandate, with a focus on working with media, parliaments, and civil society.

102-43, 102-44: APPROACH TO STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND KEY TOPICS AND CONCERNS RAISED

Member Governments

Executive Directors and Boards of Governors engage regularly with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including national stakeholders in their own country and with inter-national civil society organizations (CSOs) on the margins of the organization’s Spring and Annual Meetings, as well as during travel to client countries for Bank Group operations.

The Boards of Governors of the Bank Group and IMF regularly hold Annual and Spring Meetings to discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development, and finance. The Annual Meetings provide a forum for international cooperation and enable the Bank Group and the IMF to better serve their client countries.

The Bank Group also engages directly with donor capitals to enhance strategic and high-level collaboration and facilitate consultations and knowledge exchange around joint priorities and agendas as well as relationship-building both at the technical and Senior Management levels. Examples of recent key engagements with donor capitals include consultations on the IDA19 replenishment package and the WBG Strategy for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence 2020-2025.

In addition to the Annual and Spring Meetings, the Development Committee convenes to advise the Boards of Governors on issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness. For recent communiqués from the Development Committee see http://www.devcommittee.org/communiques.

Outcomes of the Development Committee are inputs to the GRI materiality exercise. 

Employees

Staff engagement, pride in the institution, and commitment to a shared mission are key to the World Bank’s success. Staff are kept informed at all times and have formal and informal opportunities to engage and have dialogue with Senior Management through various avenues, such as internal events, live webcast leadership town halls, online chats, leadership blogs, Staff Association updates and working groups, and so on. Similarly, at the unit level, Vice Presidents, Directors, and Managers contribute to fostering staff engagement through various channels, as appropriate. The World Bank’s intranet is available to all staff across 140 countries and is easily accessible on employee devices. Management ensures the flow of information through communications campaigns, announcements, stories, webinars, learning opportunities, targeted briefings, broad-reach newsletters, and emails. More broadly, to support staff in feeling part of an integrated community, there are additional engagements such as cultural performances, staff profiles, and staff conversations. The Bank also promotes various corporate communication campaigns, such as the Community Connections Campaign to raise funds for the local community in Washington and client countries, campaigns around staff health and wellness, safety and security, etc. 

Monitoring the staff level of engagement is very important. Regularly, the in-depth employee Engagement Survey invites staff to voice their opinions on comprehensive key issues, from leadership to career development, from inclusiveness to the work environment. The Bank engagement index and the participation rate in the survey remain consistently high. As indicated in the 2019 Engagement Survey, results of which were released in January 2020, the Bank’s participation rate and engagement rate were each at 77 percent. Bank staff continuously show high levels of engagement and pride in working for the organization. Based on the annual engagement survey and other feedback channels, staff concerns tend to center around the need for expanded career development opportunities. Other concerns raised by staff were related to specific events in the last year, such as race discrimination, health and the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Civil Society

Citizen engagement and stakeholder consultations are a key part of the country engagement process. The World Bank engages CSOs regularly at the global, regional, and local levels. The Bank shares information, solicits input on policy reforms, consults with CSOs on corporate strategies, collaborates with them on Bank-financed projects, and forges partnerships to further shared goals. The preparation of SCDs, CPFs, and to the extent possible Country Engagement Notes (CENs) incorporates feedback received from consultations with the government, the private sector, civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders in the country.

The inputs obtained are used in determining the focus and scope of the CPF program. In addition to allowing the WBG to better inform its country programs, the engage-ment process with stakeholders also helps improve program implementation by hearing a wide range of views regarding potential impact, thereby increasing develop-ment effectiveness. This helps strengthen the sustainability of WBG engagement programs. In the consultation process, the Bank employs a variety of complementary formats to collect stakeholders’ views, such as face-to-face meetings and social media forums. For example, the Bank’s Civil Society team hosts a monthly call with CSOs and distributes a monthly e-newsletter that reaches roughly 11,000 subscribers.

As part of the Bank’s new ESF, engaging with stakeholders is a mainstreamed part of regular operations. Environmental and Social Standard 10 (ESS10) on Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure recognizes the importance of open and transparent engagement between the borrower and project stakeholders as an essen-tial element of good international practice. As part of this, all projects under the new ESF are required to have a Stakeholder Engagement Plan as well as a grievance mechanism. And through the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group operations, the Bank Group engages with CSOs and citizens to include beneficiary feedback in Bank Group-financed projects in which there are clearly identifiable beneficiaries.

Twice a year, during the Annual and Spring Meetings, the Bank Group hosts the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF), which enables the Bank and CSOs to deliberate on critical issues such as citizen engagement, accountability, decreasing space for civil society, education, energy, and climate change. The CSPF has become an integral part of the WBG-IMF Meetings, providing an open space for CSOs to dialogue and exchange views with Bank and IMF staff, their peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of topics. More than 800 CSO participants attended the event at the 2019 Annual Meetings, demonstrating the continued interest from CSOs in engaging with the Bank.

CSOs raise issues and concerns throughout the year as a regular part of their engagement through consultations, meetings, and in ad-hoc advocacy. The CSPF allows CSOs to propose sessions on topics of interest and concern for civil society, and to raise these topics directly with Bank leadership through the Roundtable with Executive Directors (Spring and Annual Meetings) and the Townhall with the World Bank President and IMF Managing Director (Annual Meetings). While CSO issues and concerns are broad and diverse, they can largely be grouped into the following focus areas:

• Citizen Engagement: How will the Bank track and implement its commitments under the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement. CSOs have also raised concerns on the shrinking space for civic engagement across the world.

• ESF: CSOs were heavily involved in consultations on the development of the new ESF. During the consultations, they raised a number of issues, including the need for greater stakeholder engagement and for explicit language on human rights in the ESF. The relevant World Bank teams continue to update CSOs regularly on the implementation of the ESF and the development of additional guidance for staff and borrowers, and continue to engage with CSOs on issues like retaliation against human rights defenders and the closing of civic space, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Inclusion: CSOs have used their platforms to give voice to the concerns of marginalized communities and have asked the Bank to ensure its activities consider the needs of religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities, Indigenous Peoples, women and girls, youth, the disabled, and other groups who may be excluded.

• Climate Change: Civil Society have pressed the Bank on its commitments to ending all direct and indirect financing of fossil fuels and to align its strategies with the Paris Agreement.

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• IDA: Many CSOs have been regular supporters of IDA replenishments. During the IDA 19 replenishment discussion, CSOs engaged through regular updates on the CSO monthly call, roundtable discussions, bilateral meetings, and at the IDA Forum at the Spring and Annual Meetings.

• Accountability: CSOs are interested in how the Bank adheres to the recommendations of its independent accountability mechanisms, such as the Inspection Panel.

• COVID-19 Response: CSOs have been engaged recently on the Bank’s COVID-19 response, with many focused on understanding how citizen engagement will be implemented during lockdowns and drawing attention to the need for crisis response to build more resilient systems for the future and to prioritize debt relief.

Topics raised by CSOs are used as inputs to the GRI materiality exercise.

In addition to Bank-led convenings, Senior Management also participates in public advocacy activities with civil society, including the Interaction Annual Forum and the RESULTS International Conference. In FY20, around 50 RESULTS partners participated in a series of virtual discussions with Bank leadership and technical teams.

Opinion Leaders

The Country Opinion Survey (COS) program systematically assesses and tracks the views of external opinion leaders across client countries. The Bank Group has collected thousands of opinions in this mandated program since its inception in fiscal year 2012. Each client country is surveyed once every three years; each year, about 40 to 45 countries are included. In this manner, over a three-year cycle, the program obtains feedback from stakeholders in nearly all client countries. No other multi-lateral organization engages in a feedback mechanism of such breadth and depth. Priorities identified by opinion leaders through the COS are used as input to the GRI materiality exercise.

ESG Investor Community

The World Bank engages with investors of IBRD bonds, including those with ESG investment considerations. Many of these investors consult reports published by ESG firms that rate and rank issuers based on specific ESG indicators. The firms believe that the ratings reflect the investors’ general areas of interest. In their issuer profile reports, ESG firm research teams analyze the World Bank’s approach to how to lend and conduct business internally as it pertains to, for example, staff satisfaction, health, and safety, board member composition, and carbon footprint based on business-as-usual activities. The World Bank frequently receives requests to review and provide feedback on ESG report drafts, and in many cases, there is already a draft response, which the Bank fact-checks and balances with additional resources (for example, reports, talking points, press releases, etc.) so that the requestors have a more holistic and complete understanding of our corporate and development activities.

Investors have asked for clarification about the project implementation process and how safeguards help reduce social and environmental risks. Their questions focused on, for example, issues around the resettlement of communities and ESG policies around corporate procurement. In addition, investors may ask about labor and the supply chain during project implementation by contractors helping to install projects on the ground alongside local agencies. In the past, investors have asked about how well these companies that were procured for project implementation are vetted in order to prevent any violation of human rights and child labor within countries where projects are being financed. Investors have also asked about the World Bank’s exclusion list, including what sectors the World Bank does not support in its lending operations (e.g., tobacco, nuclear reactors, goods for military purposes, etc.). Additionally, investors have asked about the World Bank’s participation in financing fossil fuels, such as coal and oil and gas. Lastly, investors often question how we handle corruption and how we ensure that funds go where they are intended and that impact is achieved.

The questions that the World Bank regularly provides feedback on to ESG research and rating firms are used as part of the materiality exercise for the GRI Index.

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Local, national and internal media

The World Bank regularly reaches out to media to cover corporate priorities, including events involving Senior Management. At key opportunities, such as the Annual and Spring Meetings, the Bank proactively drives the primary messages of the institution, including its commitment to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity by working with countries to achieve strong development outcomes. The World Bank uses media outlets and social media to promote our work on issues related to these goals, such as the global economy, debt transparency, human capital, climate change, forced displacement, and gender inequality. The Bank also responds to media queries to help the media better understand the Bank’s role and responsibilities. Press releases, statements, transcripts, and feature stories from the Bank appear on the World Bank’s homepage and on the news site.

Topics raised by media are used as inputs to the GRI materiality exercise.

Foundations and the Private Sector

The World Bank partners with philanthropic and private partners from across all regions of the world, across a diverse portfolio of programs to help build political and financial support for its mission. These partnerships mobilize innovative ideas, provide new sources of funding, and enable the institution to build an active network of expert partners. Engagement with these two stakeholder groups takes different forms, from individual dialogues with prospective and existing partners, to group discus-sions on key development areas; and it entails the participation of WBG experts at the operational and/or management levels.

During 2019, the World Bank continued its work with key private and philanthropic partners to tackle difficult challenges by taking innovations to scale, assessing the overall efficacy of our engagement, and identifying areas where our comparative strengths could be better leveraged to make a significant impact. In October 2019, the World Bank convened its Partnership Forum, a high-level event held approximately every 18 - 24 months. Chaired by the WBG President, it brings together a select group of philanthropic and private sector leaders and is designed to forge partnerships to accelerate progress on a high-priority global development challenge. This year’s Forum brought together 17 C-suite representatives from foundations, corporations, and investment groups to discuss increasing women’s economic empower-ment in emerging markets by removing barriers that women entrepreneurs face. The discussion focused on tackling three critical areas for advancing women-owned businesses: access to finance, access to skills, and access to markets. 

The Partnerships team also engages with partners at key private and philanthropic forums and events such as the Annual General Assembly conference of the European Foundation Centre, the Global Philanthropy Forum, and One Young World (OYW). In October 2019, the WBG participated in the OYW2019 summit, which focused on the topic of investing in people to build human capital. The Summit gathered 2,000 participants, including young leaders, influencers, and private sector leaders and representatives.

Our private and philanthropic partners share many of the same concerns as the World Bank. Our partners are focused on addressing some of the toughest development challenges, such as climate change, forced displacement, and investments in people, as well as inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Partners are interested in developing mechanisms for engagement with our institution, including financial instruments, as well as learning from each other’s operational knowledge to identify comparative strengths that can best leverage our impact in key development areas.

As a direct result of stakeholder discussions, the World Bank works in several important partnerships with partners that focus on scaling up investment and advocacy on key priority issues, including forced displacement, gender, disruptive technology, climate, and human capital. In addition, the institution continues to strengthen its engagement with existing partners. Highlights include: 

• The Refugee Investment and Matchmaking Platform (RIMP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on increasing economic opportunities for refugees and host communities by bringing together a coalition of partners businesses, foundations, investors, governments, and development organizations. The RIMP combines activities in Jordan in support of local companies benefitting refugees, with a global knowledge and advocacy component. As of June 2020, it has helped finalize 

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51 business transactions between global and Jordan companies, leading to an increase in investments, sales transactions and employment in the country; rallied partners to commit $50 million in seed capital for an investment catalyst mechanism currently under development; and provided policy guidance on refugee needs. Under its global knowledge and advocacy component, RIMP is co-leading global actors around a Private Sector for Refugees agenda that includes the Confederation of Danish Industry, the European Investment Bank, and the International Chamber of Commerce, with support from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. This group developed the Charter of Good Practice on the Role of the Private Sector in Economic Integration of Refugees, a practical guide for private sector engagement in support of refugees, and will be launching an online knowledge platform in fall 2020.

• J.P. Morgan supported a new World Bank multi-donor trust fund focused on improving the quality of skills development for India’s young people. The program will improve access to quality and market-relevant training for youth in select Indian states. It will support innovative models in curriculum development; provide training for teachers as well as career counselling for students; develop and match skills development programs to emerging demand in the future of work; foster inclusion of marginalized communities; and reduce gender gaps in accessing skills development programs. Pilot projects are to be launched in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

• In fiscal year 2020, our long-standing partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on boosting human capital, scaling up digital financial services, improving measurement in primary health systems, strengthening country data analytics, and improving service delivery models. Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, we have worked together closely on the procurement and deployment of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. We are also joining forces to help countries cope with the economic repercussions of the pandemic, including through expansion of digital platforms to deliver social protection payments. 

Topics raised by our philanthropic and private sector partners are used as inputs to the GRI materiality exercise.

Development Partners

The Bank Group engages closely with multilateral development partners to enhance operational impact in our client countries. These include the UN system, multilateral development banks (MDBs), the European Commission (EC), key multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). 

Our engagement with the UN is focused on safeguarding global public goods and enhancing country outcomes in our client countries, in line with and leveraging each institution’s comparative advantage. The Bank Group participates in UN intergovernmental and interagency task forces and coordinating bodies, including the Chief Executives Board for Coordination and Inter-Agency Standing Committee, to help set the strategic direction and to ensure maximum impact for our partnership. This is complemented by bilateral meetings between the institutions’/agencies’ Senior Management. Our country teams are in close contact with UN agencies at the opera-tional level to support joint program design and implementation.

In 2018, the Bank Group and the UN signed a Strategic Partnership Framework Agreement for the 2030 Agenda, which prioritizes the following areas of engagement: (i) implementing and financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; (ii) climate action; (iii) the humanitarian-development nexus and its linkages to peace; and (iv) realizing the data revolution. In addition, our collaboration extends to other thematic areas to help countries achieve the SDGs, including, but not limited to, health and human capital, gender, trade, private sector development, capacity building, and governance. In 2020, the Bank Group and the UN have partnered closely on COVID-19 response efforts to ensure a coordinated approach at the country level that capitalizes on each institution’s comparative advantage. 

The Bank Group collaborates closely and engages regularly with other MDBs on a variety of issues of common interest and concern ranging from engagement with insti-tutional investors and on enhancing skills development and job creation to measures to enhance coordination and complementarity at the country level. This exchange takes place through a working-level Sherpa group, several formal and informal working groups, and at the MDB Heads level. The latter, who oversee and guide this work, meet twice a year—usually at the sidelines of the Annual and Spring Meetings—to discuss strategic directions, main policy challenges, and developments in the

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international development arena and overall MDB authorizing environment. The MDB Heads group has a rotating presidency that coordinates these discussions on behalf of the group.

In April 2020, the Bank Group, together with the IMF, collaborated closely with other MDBs and the G20 on the COVID-19 response efforts across disciplines, through regular coordination meetings, information sharing, and co- and parallel financing of projects. Through this collaboration, the partners called for the suspension of bilat-eral debt service payments from the poorest countries to ensure they have the liquidity needed to address the impacts of the pandemic. G20 Finance Ministers subse-quently endorsed the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which took effect on May 1, 2020.  

The Bank Group collaborates with the EC in various sectors, including but not limited to jobs and economic transformation; climate, energy and disaster risk reduction; fragility, conflict and violence; digitalization; human development; gender; and trade. Our partnership with the EC involves close dialogue and upstream coordination on joint priorities, collaboration on implementation at the global and country levels, joint assessments and knowledge sharing, and a strong financial relationship anchored in a Financial Framework Partnership Agreement, most recently updated in July 2020. The Bank Group works with a broad range of EC Directorates-General, with cooperation underpinned by strategic coordination processes, such as “Deep Dives,” High-Level Dialogues, and Country/Sector Days. There is also strong engagement with other EU institutions, including the European Parliament, the European External Action Service, and the Council of Ministers. We collaborate in regions across the globe, including Europe and Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

The Bank Group is an observer in the G7 and G20 and usually participates at Senior Management level in the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting, a side program during the G7 Leaders’ Summit, and the G20 Summit. In the G20, the Bank Group is invited to participate fully in the working groups, act as an observer with a mandate to intervene in ministerial meetings and at the Summit, including during the communiqué negotiations. Our level of engagement and participation in the G7 is less formalized and varies depending on the Presidency. In both the G7 and G20, the Bank Group is called on to provide evidence-based analytical reports and inputs to the discussions and to highlight how countries—including those not at the table, particularly developing countries—may perceive or be impacted by the proposals or reforms under discussion.

In 2020, the Bank Group engaged closely with the U.S. G7 Presidency and the Saudi G20 Presidency to support the globally coordinated response to COVID-19 by highlighting the needs and challenges of developing countries, sharing information and analytics on efforts to address them, and stressing the importance of global cooperation. Extraordinary meetings among Leaders, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and other Ministers (e.g. Health, Trade, Agriculture, Labor and Employment) were convened to address COVID-19, with the Bank Group Senior Management’s participation, and lead interventions to share knowledge and policy recommendations, including around the DSSI. The Bank Group has also contributed to other G20 agenda items, such as trade and investment, digital financial inclusion, access to opportunities, and Infratech.

We have observer status in most OECD bodies and participate regularly in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In addition to various committees and working groups, we participate in the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF) and Gendernet (Network on Gender Equality). There is also extensive cooperation—from ad-hoc to more systematic—between the OECD and the Bank Group on joint knowledge products, such as the OECD/WB/UN report on Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure and Climate or the OECD/WB/GFDRR report on Disaster Resilience Financing in Small Island Developing States. At the country level, the Bank Group assisted the Peruvian government with their OECD accession process. In the G20 context, the Bank Group and OECD have a close working relationship on trade and tax. 

The World Bank is represented in the APEC finance stream at the Finance Ministers’ meeting, Deputy Finance Ministers’ meeting, and Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting. In APEC, the Bank Group plays an active role in discussions on the economic outlook, disaster risk financing, and, most recently, debt sustainability.

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102-45: ENTITIES INCLUDED IN THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The content and data in this document relate to the IBRD and the IDA, which together form the World Bank.

The 2020 GRI Index does not cover activities of the other three agencies of the World Bank Group: IFC, MIGA, and ICSID. These agencies publish separate annual reports. Some references to the World Bank Group have been made in this report as appropriate.

For more about the World Bank and its sibling agencies, see https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are.

102-46, 102-47: DEFINING REPORT CONTENT AND TOPIC BOUNDARIES AND LIST OF MATERIAL TOPICS

See Introduction to this report.

102-102-48, 102-49, 102-50, 102-51, 102-52, 102-53, 102-54, 102-55, AND 102-56: RESTATEMENTS OF INFORMATION; CHANGES IN REPORTING; REPORTING PERIOD; DATE OF MOST RECENT REPORT; REPORTING CYCLE; CONTACT POINT FOR QUESTIONS REGARDING THE REPORT; CLAIMS OF REPORTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GRI STANDARDS; GRI CONTENT INDEX; AND EXTERNAL ASSURANCE.

The GRI Index 2020 covers fiscal year 2020, which spans July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. It has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option. The World Bank updates its GRI Index annually and provides a summary of the year’s activities in the World Bank Annual Report. A Sustainability Review is published biennially. Disclosure on Biodiversity was included as a material topic, while disclosure on supplier assessment was deemed immaterial this fiscal year. There were no restatements of information given in previous reports. The World Bank has not set a policy on gaining external assurance for its GRI Index and Sustainability Review. In practice, the carbon inventory is also assured every year by the IFC Annual Report auditors.

The previous Sustainability Review and GRI Index were made available in October 2019. The GRI Index 2019 is available at: http://worldbank.org/corporateresponsibility.

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Economic Disclosures

GRI 200 Economic Standards Series

MATERIAL TOPICS: ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC IMPACTS, PROCUREMENT PRACTICES, ANTI-CORRUPTION

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 140 locations, the World Bank Group is the world’s largest development bank. It is an important source of financial resources and technical assistance for developing countries around the globe. It is not a bank in the ordinary sense, but a unique partner-ship formed to support economic development. Two goals—ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity—guide the World Bank’s mission. Sustainability is an overarching theme. In order to achieve the two goals for the welfare of future generations, the Bank provides a wide array of investments in areas such as education, health, public administration, infrastructure (including low-carbon energy and transport), financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. The areas that Bank investments support present enormous challenges and opportunities for development, making it essential that they be tackled in an integrated way. Climate action helps countries develop sustainably: when countries act on climate change, they will also benefit from clean air and water, healthy oceans, resilient cities, and sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Countries need sustainable economic growth and good development outcomes more than ever, and climate change puts both at risk. Helping our clients act on climate is a high-level strategic priority for the Bank Group. The Bank Group is committed to playing an important role in helping client countries integrate climate action into their core development agendas, supporting them to build low-carbon, climate-resilient inclusive economies. For the last five years, this was undertaken under the guidance of the Bank Group’s first ever Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) which ran from 2016 to 2020. New climate targets for the coming five years will form the basis of an updated Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025 (to be published in detail in late 2020). 

The World Bank’s lending is aimed at two different groups of countries: IBRD strives to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries through loans, guarantees, risk-management products, and analytical and advisory services. IDA offers below-market-rate financing to the world’s poorest countries, primarily through credits and grants. IBRD funds itself through high-quality bonds offered in the international capital markets. IDA’s funding is traditionally from contributions by donor countries, including OECD countries and, increasingly, middle-income nations. Starting in 2018, IDA has also begun issuing bonds in capital markets.

The World Bank holds itself accountable to its clients and shareholders through institutional mechanisms that monitor operational performance. These include the World Bank Corporate Scorecard, the IDA Results Measurement System, updates on policy commitments associated with the WBG Capital Package, and regular opportunities to discuss progress on operations with the Bank’s Executive Directors. The Bank also benefits from the expertise of the Independent Evaluation Group.

The World Bank Corporate Scorecard is designed to provide a snapshot of the Bank’s overall performance in the context of development results. It facilitates strategic dialogue between Bank management and its Board of Executive Directors on progress made and areas that need attention. Through the Scorecard, the WBG reports on 

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its Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas emissions and finance directed at climate mitigation and adaptation. Aspects of financial sustainability are measured under the Scorecard’s Tier III, which reviews the overall success of Bank activities in achieving development goals and examines the effectiveness of Bank operations, including the perfor-mance of its lending portfolio.

The IDA Results Measurement System (RMS) tracks results in countries supported by IDA as a key reporting and accountability tool for tracking progress and reporting results achieved by IDA during each replenishment cycle. Progress made on increasing the share of climate-related financing over total WBG commitments is reported as part of both IDA and CCAP updates, along with GHG emissions as another result indicator. The IDA RMS and Corporate Scorecard are both publicly available.

The World Bank Group Capital Package was endorsed by shareholders during the 2018 Spring Meetings and included a historic $13 billion capital increase and ambitious set of internal reforms and policy measures, including climate change commitments. In response to the request by Governors, the WBG provides an annual update to the Development Committee on progress in implementing the Capital Package commitments.

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluates the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group. IEG work provides evaluative evidence to help the World Bank Group deliver better services and results to its clients. IEG does so by generating lessons from past experience and accountability to shareholders and stakehold-ers at large. IEG is independent of the management of the World Bank Group and reports directly to the Executive Board. IEG evaluates impact at the project level for every project that has closed and undertakes strategic or systemic evaluations.

This response does not cover activities of the other three agencies of the World Bank Group. Some references to the World Bank Group have been made in this report as appropriate.

201-1: DIRECT ECONOMIC VALUE GENERATED AND DISTRIBUTED

In fiscal year 2020, IBRD’s net revenues totaled $2.4 billion ($2.3 billion and $2.16 billion for 2019 and 2018, respectively), and IDA’s net revenues were $1.8 billion ($1.7 billion and $1.65 billion for 2019 and 2018, respectively). Sources of IBRD revenues include net revenue from loans, net revenue from other Asset Liability Management derivatives and revenue from investments trading. IDA’s revenues include revenue from loans and from investments, net of borrowing costs. The financial performance of IBRD reflects the impact from the measures put in place in previous years to increase its financial capacity and ensure its long-term financial sustainability.

In fiscal year 2020, IBRD’s administrative expenses were $1.23 billion ($1.17 billion and $1.18 billion for 2019 and 2018, respectively), and IDA’s administrative and devel-opment grant expenses for fiscal year 2020 were $3 billion ($9.2 billion and $6.43 billion for 2019 and 2018, respectively). The decline in IDA’s expenses was primarily driven by the decrease in development grant expenses, due to the timing of recognition of the grant expenses as a result of the implementation of a new accounting standard. Significant progress has been made to ensure budget spending discipline and efficiency, which has resulted in an improvement in the budget anchor (an efficiency measure that shows net administrative expenses as a percentage of loan spread revenue.)

Visit the World Bank Group Finances page to better understand the business models of each entity. See the IBRD Management’s Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) and the IDA MD&A.

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201-2:  FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND OTHER RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

It is impossible to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity without addressing climate change. Without urgent action, climate change impacts could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030. Natural disasters already cost low- and middle-income countries about $18 billion a year through damage to power generation and transport infrastructure alone. They also trigger much wider disruptions for households and firms, costing at least $390 billion a year. Climate change also acts as a multiplier, with the potential to make other development challenges much worse, often for the poorest and most vulnerable. For instance, it has been linked as a major driver of the current desert locust outbreak: unusual weather conditions exacerbated by climate change created ideal conditions for locust numbers to surge, while strong cyclones in typically arid areas of Africa and the Middle East helped disperse the swarms.

At the same time, bold climate action can unlock major economic opportunities and jobs for the Bank Group’s client countries. A shift to low-carbon, resilient economies could create over 65 million net new jobs globally by 2030. Low-carbon, climate-resilient investments that could transform countries include expanding renewable energy access, boosting electric mobility and public transit, supporting climate-smart urban development, sustainably managing forests, improving agricultural practices and making better use of water resources. Investing in resilient infrastructure in developing countries could deliver $4.2 trillion over the lifetime of new infrastructure. Making infrastructure more resilient avoids costly repairs and minimizes the wide-ranging consequences of natural disasters for the livelihoods and well-being of people. It also unlocks significant economic benefits: an investment of $1, on average, yields $4 in benefits.

To help our clients better understand and prepare for the risks of a changing climate, as well as unleash economic opportunities from action, the Bank Group is stepping up its mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk management work and will increasingly look at all its business through a climate lens. Scaling up finance quickly is critical, but public budgets alone are not enough. In addition to direct financing, the Bank Group is also responding to country demand by mobilizing private investment and helping open low-carbon markets where they didn’t previously exist. The Bank Group is today the largest multilateral funder of climate investments in developing countries, accounting for nearly half of the total of climate finance from the MDBs—delivering $18.4 billion (out of a total of $41.5 billion in FY 2019).

In 2016, the Bank Group committed to increase its climate financing to 28 percent of its portfolio by 2020, in response to client demand. This commitment is part of the Bank Group CCAP that laid out ambitious targets to be met by 2020 in such areas as clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, disaster risk management, and sustainable urbanization. Since 2018, the Bank Group has exceeded the climate finance target for three consecutive fiscal years. It has also exceeded the target set for adaptation, with the share of adaptation finance at 52% for IDA/IBRD for FY20. The Bank Group is also on track to meet or exceed other key objectives of the CCAP, such as support-ing countries in their transition to clean energy, promoting energy efficiency and climate smart agriculture, and putting a price on carbon.

Progress against the financing target is tracked in the Bank Group’s Corporate Scorecards, the IDA RMS, and updates on the WBG Capital Package. For each of these, annual climate-related commitments are tracked by measuring the share of climate-related financing in total commitments.

A new set of climate targets for 2021-2025 will form the basis of an updated Climate Change Action Plan. These targets, which build on the WBG’s 2016 CCAP, will support countries in taking ambitious climate action, with a strong focus on increasing adaptation, leveraging private sector finance, and supporting increased systemic climate action at the country level.

For details on climate-related projects, see http://www.worldbank.org/climatechange.

Risks and opportunities and the subsequent implications of the Bank’s activities due to climate change are reported through the CDP disclosures. For the complete report, see www.cdp.net.

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201-3:  DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN OBLIGATIONS AND OTHER RETIREMENT PLANS

The World Bank offers its staff defined benefit plans. Participation in the pension plan is mandatory. The Staff Retirement Plan (pension) and Retired Staff Benefits Plan (medical) assets are held in separate irrevocable trusts, and the Post Employment Benefit Plan assets (other benefits) are included in IBRD’s investment portfolio. The assets of the plans are used for the exclusive benefit of the participants and their beneficiaries, and represent the accumulated contributions paid into the plans net of benefit payments, together with the accumulated value of investment earnings, net of related expenses.

The World Bank’s contribution to the pension plan is based on a specified funding methodology and varies from year to year in response to changes in the plan’s financial position. Employees participating in the gross plan (closed plan) contribute 7 percent of the pensionable gross salary. Employees in the net plan (open to new entrants) contribute 5 percent of their net salary to the mandatory cash balance component. Participants in the net plan may choose to contribute up to an additional 6 percent of their net salary to the cash balance.

As of June 30, 2020, the value of accrued pension liabilities for IBRD/IDA was $23.5 billion, supported by assets of $19.3 billion held in a trust. The funded ratio (assets over liabilities) was 81.9 percent.

Assets are evaluated at their fair value, and liabilities are measured as the Projected Benefit Obligation, discounted with high-quality corporate bond rates. The two amounts are estimated in full compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP).

201-4:  FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENT

Member contributions: IBRD has a diversified shareholder base that supports IBRD’s financial strength through both paid-in and callable capital. Callable capital may be called only when required to meet obligations of IBRD. For capital contributed by a member country, see Financial Statements.

Trust funds: Generally accounted for separately from the Bank’s own resources, trust funds are financial and administrative arrangements with external donors that lead to grant funding of high-priority development needs, such as technical assistance, advisory services, debt relief, post-conflict transition, and co-financing. 

Taxes: As an organization established by international treaty, the World Bank receives tax-exempt status from its member countries.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: ECONOMIC IMPACTS

The World Bank is an important source of financial resources and technical assistance for developing countries around the world. It is not a bank in the ordinary sense, but a unique partnership formed by its member country governments to support economic development. Stakeholders—including member countries, investors, and partners from across civil society as well as the private sector, among other—recognize development as a key impact of the Bank’s business. The Bank supports a wide array of critical investments in areas such as education, health, public administration and institutional development, infrastructure, financial and private sector devel-opment, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management, among others. These investments aim to help countries grow their economies inclusively and sustainably; to build the human capital needed to help people seize economic opportunity; and to ensure that countries remain resilient in the face of global shocks or threats that could undermine progress in eliminating poverty. This topic applies to the World Bank’s operational impact. There is no specific limitation regarding the boundary of the topic(s).   

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When the World Bank provides governments with financing to invest in projects, it aims to ensure that people and the environment are protected from potential adverse impacts. It does so through policies that identify, avoid, and minimize harm to people and the environment. These policies require the borrowing governments to address certain environmental and social risks in order to receive World Bank support for investment projects. This includes, among other things, community consulta-tions and public disclosure of key documents. The World Bank currently applies two sets of environmental and social policies: the Safeguard Policies, for projects with concept notes before October 1, 2018; and the ESF, for projects with concept notes after October 1, 2018. The ESF was adopted in August 2016. It will incrementally replace the Safeguard Policies; the two are expected to operate in parallel for about seven years. The ESF offers broader and more systematic coverage of environ-mental and social risks, including important advances on transparency, nondiscrimination, social inclusion, public participation, and accountability. The development of the ESF is managed by the World Bank’s Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) unit, which oversees the Bank’s operational policies and provides assistance to operations staff in their engagement with client countries. 

The World Bank holds itself accountable to its clients and shareholders through institutional mechanisms that monitor operational performance. These include the World Bank Corporate Scorecard, the IDA RMS, and regular opportunities to discuss progress on operations with the Bank’s Executive Directors. The Bank also benefits from the expertise of key units within and independent of the institution. The IEG aims to strengthen the World Bank Group’s development effectiveness through evaluations that assess results and performance and recommends improvements. IEG’s evaluations contribute to accountability and learning and inform the Bank Group’s new direc-tions, policies and procedures, and country partnership frameworks. IEG’s annual Results and Performance of the World Bank Group report assesses the Bank Group’s efforts to mainstream environmental sustainability in its country- and project-level work.

203-1: INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS AND SERVICES SUPPORTED

Infrastructure development in sectors such as energy, transport, and digital technology is critical to accelerating inclusive economic growth, creating jobs, helping build human capital, and reducing poverty. The World Bank supports governments through analysis and advice, financial instruments, and convening power, and by providing a solid evidence base to help them make informed decisions for improving the accessibility and quality of infrastructure services. This includes, where appropriate, using public-private partnerships and other ways to leverage private sector financing and expertise. 

World Bank investment project financing is based on the long-term (five- to ten-year) horizon and supports a wide range of activities, including capital-intensive invest-ments, service delivery, credit and grant delivery, and institution building. Through its high-quality rating in the capital markets, the World Bank is able to raise funds at favorable market terms and pass the savings on to its borrowing members.

Building modern, sustainable, and reliable infrastructure is critical for meeting the rising aspirations of billions of people around the globe. A significant increase in infrastructure investments in developing countries is needed to achieve poverty reduction and shared prosperity, reach the Sustainable Development Goals, and tackle climate change. To meet these goals, infrastructure projects must follow rigorous environmental and social standards, and be fiscally sustainable.

When a project is completed and closed, the World Bank and the borrower document the results achieved; any implementation issues encountered; the lessons learned; and the knowledge gained from carrying out the project. The World Bank compiles this information and data in an Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR), using input from the borrower’s implementing agency, co-financiers, and other partners/stakeholders. The reports describe and evaluate final project outcomes. These outcomes are compared against expected results. IEG also conducts evaluations of selected projects to measure outcomes against the original objectives, sustainability of results, and institutional development impact. ICR and IEG evaluations can be accessed online.

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The COVID-19 pandemic presents a major shock to infrastructure. The Bank is helping governments take stock of projects and contracts, prioritize planned projects based on changing priorities, and build resilience for future shocks such as natural disasters, climate change, and pandemics. We are also convening government minis-tries around the world to exchange experiences and recommendations as they address the challenges posed by the outbreak.

• For more information on infrastructure projects financed by the World Bank in fiscal year 2020, see the World Bank Annual Report 2020.

• For information on public-private partnerships.

• For information on World Bank energy projects.

• For information on World Bank extractive industries projects.

• For information on World Bank transport projects.

• For information on World Bank digital technology projects.

• For more information on World Bank products and services.

203-2: SIGNIFICANT INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS

The SDGs adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, are 17 targets in areas such as health, gender, jobs, and poverty reduction that are part of a comprehensive global agenda to end poverty in a single generation. The SDGs were formulated with strong participation from the World Bank and are fully consistent with the Bank’s own goals to alleviate poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. The World Bank helps catalyze the SDGs and the rest of the 2030 agenda through its thought leadership, global convening power, and country-level uptake. It is working with client countries to deliver on the 2030 agenda through three critical areas—finance, data, and implementation—and by supporting country-led and country-owned policies to attain the SDGs. Global efforts around the SDGs will guide the World Bank’s partnership efforts, especially with UN institutions, through 2030.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: PROCUREMENT

Procurement practices are material to both the World Bank’s corporate and operational boundaries. The supply chain was identified as a key impact area by stakehold-ers, including sustainable and impact investors, and represents an important means of supporting strategic priorities of the World Bank Group through our purchasing power.

Corporate Procurement: The Bank Group’s Corporate Procurement unit is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the sourcing strategy, selection, and contract execution for Bank offices around the globe, including adherence to the Bank’s policies on socially and environmentally responsible corporate procurement policies. For lower-value procurement in country offices, responsibility for purchases sits with the country office management, with oversight provided by the Corporate Procurement unit. Around 60 percent of purchases of goods and services occurs at headquarters in Washington, DC, with the other 40 percent divided among the Bank Group’s country offices. Many of the impacts from the procurement of goods and services are not directly caused by the Bank Group but occur as a result of its business relation-ship with suppliers. The Bank Group’s supply chain impacts are potentially the largest of its sustainability effects, with annual purchasing averaging between $1.6 and $2 

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billion. Initial analysis of supply chain emissions from purchased goods and services show that these indirect, scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions account for 3-4 times our direct (scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions. 

To mitigate potential impacts, the Bank Group identifies major impacts in each purchasing category, and uses mandatory specifications, evaluation criteria, and contract management to reduce the indirect impact of goods and services delivered to the Bank Group. Major corporate material purchases (including office construction and renovations, paper, computers, and furniture) are made with environmental life-cycle assessments in mind, and they incorporate mandatory sustainability specifications as well as evaluation criteria to reward sustainability best practice.

A sustainability framework for corporate procurement has been approved by the World Bank Group Procurement Committee and endorsed by the Corporate Responsibility Oversight Committee. It is being implemented to manage the sustainability impacts of Bank Group purchases and better connect these purchases to supporting the Bank Group’s strategic priorities. The World Bank has analyzed the inherent impacts of major categories of Bank Group purchases and is prioritizing those categories that have higher inherent sustainability impacts for interventions within the procurement process. These include purchases in categories such as building construction and renovation, IT hardware, food and catering services, among others. Review of purchases in these categories is overseen by the Sustainability Manager, sitting within the Bank Group’s Corporate Procurement unit, independent of their value. The framework mandates the identification and mitigation of major sustainabil-ity impacts for high-priority categories such as IT equipment, building-related services, and others. High-value procurement with contract values over $1 million must address the sustainability impacts and mitigation efforts of the purchase in presentations to governance committees composed of Senior Management, which review all high-value procurement contracts to ensure that socially and environmentally responsible criteria are present from the project’s outset.

The purpose of the management approach for the Bank’s corporate procurement practices is to enhance positive impacts of purchases where possible, and to avoid or mitigate negative impacts where required.

Operational Procurement: Operational procurement relates to purchases made under the international development projects financed by the World Bank. The main types of operational procurement financed by the Bank are: 

1.  Infrastructure and major plant and equipment, e.g., railways, power stations, water treatment plants, generators, wind turbines, pumps, rail stock, etc.;

2.  Critical supplies, e.g., emergency medical supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals (such as for COVID-19 response projects), shelters, food, etc.;

3.  Information technology, e.g., computers, mobile phone networks, etc.;

4.  Consultancy services, e.g., engineering design and supervision, technical assistance, tax collection advice, research and development, etc.; and

5.  Other services, e.g., aerial surveying, cartography, site investigations, etc.

Finance is provided to borrowers (Bank clients), through Investment Project Financing (IPF) where operational procurement activities take place. Procurement in IPF operations helps borrowers achieve value for money and ensure integrity in delivering sustainable development. Operational procurement opportunities are overseen by the World Bank, mainly through the Bank’s regional teams or its global practice units. As projects arise, they are allocated to a Team Leader, usually based in the country that is responsible for implementing the project. In fulfilling this function, the Bank takes a risk-based approach. In operational procurement the borrower is the buyer, not the Bank, and is required to follow certain rules, either the Bank’s previous Procurement Guidelines (for goods, works and non-consulting services) and Consultant Guidelines (for the selection and employment of consultants); or the Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (introduced on July 1, 2016). Through IPF, $15-24 billion of operational procurement is supported annually in over 130 borrowing countries. This creates a material contribution to global development outcomes.

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When the Bank provides governments with financing to invest in projects, such as building a road, connecting people to electricity, or treating wastewater, it aims to ensure that the people and the environment are protected from potential adverse impacts. The Bank does this through policies that identify, avoid, and minimize harm to people and the environment. These policies require the borrowing governments to address certain environmental and social risks in order to receive World Bank support for investment projects. Operational procurement is carried out in accordance with the World Bank’s Procurement Framework and other operations policies including the Bank’s Environmental and Social Policies.

Operational procurement grievance mechanisms are explained in the Bank’s Procurement-Related Complaints guide. Integrity is governed by the Bank’s sanctions framework and anti-corruption guidelines. Specific actions include enhancements to the Bank’s Operations Procurement standard bidding documents to include additional criteria on Environmental, Health and Safety and Social matters, including, among others, enhancements to the prevention of gender-based violence. The Bank also provides seminars and webinars on Environmental, Health and Safety, and Social matters. The Bank’s new ESF includes information on assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts, labor and working conditions, resource efficiency, pollution prevention and management, and more.

Operational procurement practices are audited by the Bank’s Internal Audit Department and by the Bank’s external auditors. The Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group also periodically reviews performance on operational procurement. For more, see The World Bank Group and Public Procurement – An Independent Evaluation.

204-1: PROPORTION OF SPENDING ON LOCAL SUPPLIERS

Corporate Procurement: The World Bank currently uses in-country vendors as the definition for “local.” If the office address for the vendor in our system is in the country where the service occurs, then it is considered local and the assumption is made that it is employing and conducting business locally. For the Bank’s corporate procurement, significant locations of operation include major World Bank offices located in Washington, DC, as well as field offices with more than 100 employees.

The Bank Group is refining its approach to local vendor screening, leveraging the newly established category management and electronic tendering system. Commodity segmentation has been completed, and the identification and inclusion of local criteria in the screening and evaluation process is underway. A new eProcurement system capable of tracking spend with local suppliers has encountered delays and will be launched by the end of 2020, with the intention of reporting spend with local suppliers in the next reporting period.

Operational Procurement: For World Bank operational procurement, “local” is defined as a procurement supplied to a borrower by a supplier registered in the country of the borrower. For the Bank’s operational procurement, significant locations are defined as any country that borrows Investment Project Financing from the World Bank.

Of operational procurement, 45.5 percent was from suppliers registered in borrower countries in fiscal year 2020, totaling $3,240 million out of $7,126 million.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: ANTI-CORRUPTION

The World Bank Group considers corruption a major challenge to its goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent of people in developing countries. In addition, reducing corruption is at the heart of the SDGs, in particular SDG16 on fostering peace, justice, and strong institutions. It is a priority for the Bank Group and many of its partners. The Bank Group has included Governance and Institutions as a theme in both its IDA18 and IDA19 cycles (over the years 2017-20 and 2020-23, respectively) to underscore the importance of the issues in achieving development results on the ground. Operations across sectors systematically incorporate governance and anticorruption measures into project design. The objective is to better mitigate corruption and fiduciary risks and ensure 

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that development funds are used for their intended purposes. Stakeholders, which include IBRD and IDA shareholders (the Boards), as well as sustainability and impact investors, recognize anti-corruption as highly relevant to the Bank’s business impact.

At Transparency International’s International Anti-Corruption Conference in October 2018, the Bank Group joined 21 governments and nine international organizations in reaffirming its commitment made at the global Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 to confront corruption as a core development issue wherever it exists and to support integrity in public sector institutions. In 2018, the Bank Group gave updates on how it is:  

• building the capacity of country clients to deliver on their commitments to enhance transparency and reduce corruption; 

• enhancing its support for implementation of anti-money-laundering requirements and for the recovery of stolen assets; and 

• extending its work on tax reform, illicit financial flows, procurement reform, and preventing corrupt companies from winning state contracts. 

The Bank Group participates in a number of other collective action initiatives at the regional and global levels, including: (i) leadership in creating international trans-parency standards (Global Initiative on Financial Transparency, Open Contracting Standard, Asset Disclosure Standards), and support for the implementation of open government (through the Open Government Partnership); (ii) active assistance in implementing transparency and accountability efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Publish What You Pay, Fisheries Transparency, and anti-money-laundering rules; (iii) engagement and active support for international alliances and regional anti-corruption forums, such as the Latin America Regional Parliamentary Network; and (iv) engagement in international forums on anti-corruption, includ-ing the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, the Financial Accountability Task Force, and the OECD Anti-Corruption Task Team. This topic is material within the Bank’s operational boundary.

The World Bank Group’s anti-fraud and anti-corruption efforts fall under the purview of the Board of Executive Directors’ Audit Committee, which oversees the operation of the Bank Group sanctions regime and makes key decisions as to its policies and function. The sanctions system is also supported by a high-level Sanctions Advisory Committee (SAC), chaired by the Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer. As a Bank Group-wide specialized governance body, the SAC provides important oversight over time to identify and address any policy gaps and to facilitate dialogue among key stakeholders. In 2018 and 2019, the SAC renewed its terms of reference and began more active engagement with stakeholders, including through operation of multiple working groups and coordination of dynamic bilateral and group consultations among Bank Group sanctions units.

The Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants (revised as of July 1, 2016) are designed to prevent and combat fraud and corruption that may occur in connection with the use of the proceeds of financing from IBRD or IDA during the prepa-ration and implementation of projects. The guidelines set out the general principles, requirements, and sanctions applicable to persons and entities that receive, are responsible for the deposit or transfer of, or take or influence decisions regarding the use of such proceeds.

The Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) is an independent unit within the Bank Group that investigates and pursues sanctions related to allegations of fraud and corruption in Bank Group-financed projects. INT supports the main business units of the Bank Group and external stakeholders, mitigating fraud and corruption risks by sharing investigative findings, advice, prevention, and outreach efforts.

The Governance Global Practice helps client countries build capable, efficient, open, inclusive, and accountable institutions. Such institutions are better able to deliver services and provide public goods fairly and efficiently, with lower levels of corruption. Tailoring efforts to country contexts, Governance and other global practices work to strengthen accountability institutions, harness digital technology, and maximize transparency to help countries control corruption.

The Ethics and Business Conduct Department (EBC) helps staff assess whether their personal and professional activities follow Bank Group rules. Under EBC’s Staff Rule 3.00, EBC also diagnoses and manages allegations of misconduct (e.g. discrimination, harassment / sexual harassment, retaliation, abuse of authority, misuse of 

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resources, failure to meet personal legal obligations, and other violations of Bank Group rules and policies). When staff request advice from EBC on conflicts of inter-est, they jointly analyze the situation and discuss alternatives. EBC also actively helps staff identify whether their situations involve conflicts of interest that need to be addressed. Through the Declaration of Interests program that EBC manages, staff members undergo an annual review of their personal, financial, and business interests so that the Bank Group can be protected from apparent and real conflicts. This year, the program has been expanded to include most professional staff at IFC, with the number of filers increasing from over 2,000 to more than 4,500. 

205-1: OPERATIONS ASSESSED FOR RISKS RELATED TO CORRUPTION

INT assesses and investigates allegations of corruption involving Bank Group financing. In fiscal year 2020, INT opened 46 external investigations into possible fraud, corruption, collusion, coercion, and obstruction in 59 Bank Group-financed projects in 33 countries. INT completed 29 Final Investigation Reports that substantiated the sanctionable practice of corruption. The reports summarized the investigation of 40 IBRD/IDA projects totaling $8.3 billion and included review of 70 contracts totaling $974 million.

For staff who work on projects, keeping attuned to risks arising from investigations and forensic audits is critical to ensuring that high-risk operations, in particular, are able to deliver results. During project preparation, World Bank experts perform due diligence screening to identify integrity risks, including for Volcker Triggers, which means that a proposed operation is in the same country and sector as an ongoing or recently completed INT investigation. In fiscal year 2020, INT identified 118 Volcker Triggers and alerted the relevant project teams and senior management so that the risks could be addressed through strengthened project design or supervision.

205-2: COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING ABOUT ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

All Bank Group employees receive an overview of relevant staff rules and how to report suspected corruption issues within the institution. INT has also developed and continues to promote an e-learning course on dealing with fraud and corruption and staff’s role in mitigating integrity risks, which is recommended for all staff. 

For all new Executive Directors of the Board and their staff, INT provides an overview of its mandate, structure, and case portfolio, and highlights relevant issues during the Board Induction program. The Board’s Audit Committee, made up of eight Executive Directors, is briefed in more detail twice a year on these activities. In fiscal year 2020, 47 Executive Directors, Advisors, and Senior Advisors attended INT’s Integrity Clinic. This event raises awareness about how corruption can impact Bank Group-financed projects, so that Board members are better able to assess projects before approving them. 

The Bank Group has harmonized investigative procedures and definitions of sanctionable practices (including corruption) with the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Firms and individuals that are sanctioned and debarred by the Bank Group must meet specific conditions, such as establishing and implementing an effective corporate compliance program or improving an existing program, before they become eligible again to bid on Bank Group-funded projects. These conditions are based on the Integrity Compliance Guidelines.

At the end of fiscal year 2020, 327 entities had been sanctioned with such conditions. In fiscal year 2020, the Integrity Compliance Office notified 39 newly debarred entities of their conditions for release, and 18 entities met their conditions for release.

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205-3: CONFIRMED INCIDENTS OF CORRUPTION AND ACTIONS TAKEN

Of 33 substantiated cases in fiscal year 2020, six involved corruption by firms or individuals working on Bank Group-funded projects. Two Bank Group employees were dismissed or disciplined for corruption in fiscal year 2020. No corporate vendors were debarred for violations related to corruption in fiscal year 2020. No public legal cases regarding corruption were brought against the Bank or its employees in fiscal year 2020. 

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Environmental Disclosures

GRI 300  Environmental Standards Series

MATERIAL TOPICS: MATERIALS, ENERGY, WATER, BIODIVERSITY, CARBON EMISSIONS, WASTE

Stakeholders of the World Bank, including Sustainable and Impact Investors, recognize that the materials, water, and energy used and the waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated in the Bank’s internal operations and the associated supply chain practices are highly relevant to its business impact. Reducing the Bank’s environmental impact by minimizing its consumption, maximizing the use of recycled or renewable alternatives, and increasing diversion from landfill helps ensure that resources are available for future generations.

This topic applies to the World Bank’s corporate impact boundary. This response does not cover activities of the other agencies of the World Bank Group. Some refer-ences to the Bank Group have been made in this report as appropriate. Since data from country offices lag by one year, fiscal year 2019 data for both Washington, DC, headquarters and country offices regarding energy, GHG emissions, and water are presented in the 2020 GRI. 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: MATERIALS

Key materials in World Bank corporate operations include paper, furniture, office supplies, information technology, and consumables related to food service. The World Bank identifies products and services with large environmental impacts or those that it procures in large amounts. The Bank then works to identify environmentally-and socially-preferable alternatives. Quarterly reports from key suppliers reflect the percentage of products that meet key environmental criteria, such as the percent of recycled content, environmental certifications including Energy Star ratings and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, and other sustainability criteria. The Bank also recently instituted a preferred-vendor policy to consider purchasing from competitive women-owned businesses before considering other vendors. Responsibility for managing this impact falls with the Sustainability Manager in the Bank’s Corporate Procurement unit.

301-1 : TOTAL WEIGHT OR VOLUME OF MATERIALS THAT ARE USED TO PRODUCE AND PACKAGE THE ORGANIZATION’S PRIMARY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

In fiscal year 2020, the total amount of non-renewable materials used was 100 metric tons, including 37 tons of electronic equipment, and 63 tons of office products. In the same period, the total amount of renewable material used was 277 tons, including 204 tons of paper and 50 tons of food-service-related consumables. A phase out of plastic bottles at the Bank’s headquarters was completed early in fiscal year 2019. The plastic water bottles were replaced with glass bottles and boxed water along with the installation of additional water fountains.

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301-2: PERCENTAGE OF RECYCLED INPUT MATERIALS

The World Bank is committed to using resources that are made from recycled or rapidly renewable materials for its internal operations. The largest material purchases include paper, office supplies, office furniture, cafeteria napkins, and electronics.  

• Paper: World Bank standard copier and printer paper is 100 percent recycled content and FSC-certified. The Bank tracks the percentage of all paper used at the institution that was made of recycled content. In fiscal year 2020, 54 percent of paper used was made from 100 percent post-consumer waste recycled content, while 46 percent consisted of 10 to 85 percent recycled content. 

• Office products: The Bank also tracks the percentage by weight of all items purchased from its office supply vendor that contain at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. In fiscal year 2020, 22 percent of all purchases from the office supply vendor contained at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. This is up from 17 percent of all purchases in prior years.

• Furniture: The majority of furniture in use at the World Bank has been refurbished or reupholstered. • Food-service consumables: In the Bank’s food services, all cafeteria napkins are made from 100 percent recycled fibers (20 percent of which is post-consumer 

recycled fibers) and produced with a 100 percent bleach-free process. In fiscal year 2020, the Bank purchased 2.97 tons of napkins.• Electronic equipment: The Bank also uses sustainability criteria for its information technology purchases to ensure components of computers, laptops, and 

monitors are made of recycled input materials. The percentage of recycled components in technology purchases is not tracked.

Materials Used (metric tons) FY20 FY19 FY18

Total non-renewable materials 100 185 252

Electronic equipment  37  9 36 

Office products  63 172 116 

Bottled water (plastic)  0 4 100

Total renewable materials 277 455  590 

Paper  204 358  501 

Bottled water (glass)  23  35  27

Food-service related consumables (includes carry out containers, cups, cutlery and napkins) 

50  62  62 

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MANAGEMENT APPROACH: ENERGY

Combustion of fossil fuels is a leading driver of human-driven climate change. The World Bank manages its energy use carefully by tracking use in each owned facility. Quarterly tracking of the Bank’s energy use is evaluated by the Director of Global Corporate Solutions. Energy use is evaluated as an absolute figure and on an inten-sity basis to determine progress. Responsibility for increasing the energy efficiency of the Washington, DC, headquarters campus, with the vision of bringing all owned facilities to LEED minimum requirements or equivalent standard, as appropriate, falls with the Senior Manager for Corporate Real Estate in the Bank’s Global Corporate Solutions Department. This topic applies to the World Bank’s corporate impact boundary.

Data on energy use lags by one year. For more information, see: http://worldbank.org/corporateresponsibility.

302-1: ENERGY CONSUMPTION WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION

Fuel combustion onsite includes natural gas, propane, gasoline, and diesel fuel as well as gasoline and diesel fuel for owned vehicles. The decrease from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019 was due to decreased use of generator diesel and vehicle fuel. Fuel consumption from renewable resources is not tracked because data from fuel providers globally are not appropriately detailed.

Electricity, cooling, and steam consumption is provided in the table below. The World Bank does not purchase heating, such as district heating, for consumption, or sell any electricity, heating, cooling, or steam.

Total global energy use from onsite fuel use includes vehicle fuel use, and purchased electricity, cooling, and steam. In fiscal year 2019, data was collected from the Bank’s 157 country office facilities outside of the United States.

Onsite global fuel use (GJ) FY19 FY18 FY17

Total 61,659  68,594  85,861 

Purchased Energy Consumption (GJ) FY19 FY18 FY17

Total 396,656 405,953 420,295

Electricity 392,156 399,551  414,418

Cooling 748 1,184 5 

Steam 3,752 5,217  5,873 

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Information about World Bank standards, methodologies, and assumptions used, including conversion factors, can be found in the World Bank Group’s Inventory Management Plan for fiscal year 2019.

302-2: ENERGY CONSUMPTION OUTSIDE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Energy consumption outside the organization includes fuel used in contractor-owned vehicles as well as commercial airlines used for employee business travel. Data for fuel use in commercial airliners are not available as this information is not provided by commercial airlines.

Information about World Bank standards, methodologies, and assumptions used, including conversion factors, are in the World Bank Group’s Inventory Management Plan for fiscal year 2019. 

302-3: ENERGY INTENSITY

Overall, there was a decrease in energy use in the Bank’s 157 global locations (U.S. and country office facilities) from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019. 

In fiscal year 2019, there was continued reduction of energy use (increased efficiency) for owned and managed offices at headquarters in Washington, DC, as well as at owned and managed country offices, which are the largest source of emissions from buildings. 

The energy intensity ratio is based on total occupied square meters. This ratio includes all energy (onsite combustion fuel, mobile combustion fuel, electricity, cooling, 

Total Energy Consumption (GJ) FY19 FY18 FY17

Contractor-owned vehicles 18,467 19,808 20,328

Energy Intensity (GJ/m2) FY19 FY18 FY17

World Bank Energy Intensity (GJ/m2) 0.74 0.77 0.81

Total energy (GJ)  458,315 474,547  506,156 

Total occupied square meters ( m²)  619,883 612,330  624,568 

Total Energy Consumption (GJ) FY19 FY18 FY17

World Bank Total Energy 458,315 474,547 506,156

U.S. facilities and vehicles  295,673  307,651  316,337 

Country office facilities and vehicles  162,642  166,896  189,819

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and steam) used to conduct business operations. The ratio includes only energy consumption within the organization.

302-4: REDUCTION OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION

In fiscal year 2019, the Bank’s global energy usage within the organization (scope 1 and 2) was reduced by 16,232 GJ, predominately through reductions in electricity use. The Bank invested in energy reduction and efficiency initiatives at the headquarters offices and several non-U.S. offices, which includes the following projects:

• Headquarters has an ongoing project to upgrade to LED lights; the main headquarters building’s electricity consumption was down 1,402 GJ between fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019.

• Headquarters “J” building had its air handler unit replaced.

Reduction reporting is based on major initiatives taken in fiscal year 2019. Reductions are calculated between fiscal years. The base year reduction in this case is fiscal year 2018. Methodologies and assumptions for calculating reductions are specific to each initiative and are sourced from engineering proposals. 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: WATER SECURITY

The world will not be able to overcome the sustainable development challenges of the 21st century-including human development, livable cities, climate change, food security, and energy security-without improving management of water resources and ensuring access to reliable water and sanitation services. Quarterly evaluation of the use of water, like other utilities, is conducted by the Director of Global Corporate Solutions. Water use is evaluated both as an absolute figure and on an intensity basis to determine progress. Responsibility for increasing the water efficiency of the Washington, DC, campus, falls with the Senior Manager for Corporate Real Estate in the Bank’s Global Corporate Solutions Department. This topic applies to the World Bank’s corporate impact boundary.

In fiscal year 2020, to maximize our facilities’ operational efficiency, the Bank commissioned a series of audits for buildings at headquarters, including for water, waste, and energy, as well as in country offices, starting with two of our larger offices in Chennai, India, and Nairobi, Kenya. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the waste and energy audits in HQ are now planned for FY21.

303-3: WATER WITHDRAWAL BY SOURCE

Of the total 299.1 megaliters of water usage globally in fiscal year 2019, 184.7 megaliters of municipal water was used in the Washington, DC, offices, primarily for domestic and drinking water purposes. Offices outside the United States reported a total of 114.4 megaliters of water used. 

The Washington, DC, offices use municipal water supply from the Potomac River watershed. No surface water, groundwater, rainwater collected by the organization, 

Water Usage (megaliters) FY19 FY18 FY17

US facilities 184.7 226.7  187.1

Country office facilities 114.4 117.2 195.4 

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or wastewater from other organizations was used in the Washington offices in fiscal year 2019. For offices outside the United States this information is not currently collected. The Bank is building systems to collect this information.

Water use is based on utility bills from the local water utility, DC Water, in Washington, DC, and from utility bills or meters in those non-U.S. offices that are able to report. 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity supports economic growth and human well-being. It is essential for sustainability and to maintain ecological as well as social resilience to disturbances such as climate change. The world is experiencing a dramatic loss of biodiversity, which has negative effects on livelihoods, water supply, food security, and resilience to extreme events. It has consequences for 78 percent of the world’s extreme poor who live in rural areas, many of whom rely on ecosystems and the goods they produce to make a living. The World Bank estimates that crimes affecting natural resources and the environment inflict damage to developing countries worth more than $70 billion a year. The livelihoods, welfare, and safety nets of the rural poor, especially women, are often inextricably dependent on natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Biodiversity is especially significant for the 300 million Indigenous Peoples of the world for many of whom nature, apart from being a source of livelihood and well-be-ing, is the foundation for their cultural and spiritual identities. This topic applies to the World Bank’s operational impact boundary.

The World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice works with national and local stakeholders to improve natural resources manage-ment. We address biodiversity through country-specific and regional projects, for example:

1. Dedicated conservation projects, including with the GEF, such as the South Africa iSimangaliso Wetland Park; the Amazon Landscape Program; and the Global Wildlife Program (supported by GEF plus IDA and Trust Funds); 

2. Broader agricultural and natural resource management projects (including landscape-level interventions), such as in Burundi where biodiversity-friendly shade coffee in the Sustainable Coffee Landscape Project is being scaled up to a larger agriculture project; the Sahel and West Africa Program in support of the Great Green Wall (funded by GEF plus IDA and Trust Funds); and Colombia Sustainable Cattle Ranching (funded by GEF and Trust Funds); and

3. Infrastructure and other large-scale development projects that address biodiversity conservation in order to maintain environmental services, mitigate adverse impacts, and enhance biodiversity outcomes, such as the Cameroon Lom Pangar Dam and Lao Nam Theun 2 Dam. Both support large conservation areas as biodi-versity offsets. 

Wherever feasible, Bank-financed projects are sited on already converted lands to preserve critical natural habitats. The World Bank does not support projects that involve the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats unless there are no feasible alternatives for the project and its siting, and comprehensive analysis demonstrates that overall benefits from the project substantially outweigh the environmental costs. In response to a 2013 Independent Evaluation Group review of the Bank’s portfolio in the forest sector, the WBG developed a Forest Action Plan for fiscal years 2016-2020 that aims to boost the potential of forests to lift people out of poverty and generate lasting social, economic, and environmental returns in developing countries. Forests and trees provide vital resources and ecosystem services for humanity by regulating climate and hydrological systems. The number of people deriving direct and indirect benefits from trees in the form of employment, forest products, and contributions to livelihoods and incomes is estimated at $1.3 billion. 

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304-2: SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS OF ACTIVITIES, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ON BIODIVERSITY

The World Bank mandates that projects with a Project Concept Note review carried out in fiscal year 2019 or later apply its ESF during project preparation and imple-mentation. In addition, the World Bank has a redress mechanism to address any questions that might arise from stakeholders or civil society during implementation. 

The ESF enables the World Bank and Borrowers to better manage environmental and social risks of projects and to improve development outcomes. It intends to prevent or mitigate impacts and, whenever possible, increase positive impacts on biodiversity generated by investments supported by the World Bank.

The ESF has an ESS specifically on biodiversity, ESS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources. ESS6 recognizes that protect-ing and conserving biodiversity and sustainably managing living natural resources are fundamental to sustainable development and it recognizes the importance of maintaining core ecological functions of habitats, including forests and the biodiversity they support. ESS6 also addresses sustainable management of primary produc-tion and harvesting of living natural resources and recognizes the need to consider the livelihood of project-affected parties, including Indigenous Peoples, whose access to, or use of, biodiversity or living natural resources may be affected by a project. 

304-3: HABITATS PROTECTED OR RESTORED

The World Bank portfolio from 2014-2019 supported $845 million of direct investments by its borrowers/grantees in conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity across 67 projects worth $3.1 billion that funded interventions in sectors such as forestry, agriculture, and sustainable livelihoods. Within the portfolio, 31 projects specif-ically support 120 terrestrial protected areas and 90 marine protected areas through the protection, maintenance, and rehabilitation of natural habitats using project financing, policy, and advisory work.

The projects cover a wide range of biomes including savanna, forests, drylands, grasslands, marine, and coastal habitats across the world. In Latin America and the Caribbean region, eight projects support 27 terrestrial protected areas and 46 marine protected areas. In Africa, 10 projects support 37 terrestrial protected areas. In South Asia and the East Asia Pacific region, 10 projects support 51 terrestrial protected areas and 41 marine protected areas. In East and Central Asia, one project supports two protected areas and in the Middle East and North Africa, two projects support 3 terrestrial protected areas and 3 marine protected areas. In total, through World Bank support, approximately 115 million hectares of new marine protected areas and over 24 million hectares of new terrestrial protected areas will be or have been created. The World Bank also supported investments in habitat restoration covering more than one million hectares through 18 projects.

The World Bank is a development agency that supports governments in achieving conservation and development goals. As such, the World Bank itself is a third party ensuring that governments and executing agencies have achieved success through supervision work. Some of the partnerships that exist and are supported by the World Bank include: the Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development, the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime, the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program, the SAHEL Initiative, the Great Green Wall Initiative, and AFR100. 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: CARBON EMISSIONS

Addressing climate change is part of the World Bank’s core mission of helping countries end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. Climate change threatens to erode development gains around the world, and its effects are greatest on the poorest and most vulnerable countries, which are the World Bank’s clients. The Bank continues to deepen its efforts to measure, reduce, offset, and report GHG emissions associated with its global internal operations, including 

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its facilities, key meetings, and corporate air travel. The Bank has measured the GHG emissions from its facilities in Washington, DC, since 2005 and globally since 2007 in accordance with the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s GHG Protocol. Additional information on proxies, emissions factors, and the complete boundary are available in the World Bank Group’s annually updated Inventory Management Plan. A third party periodically verifies the Inventory Management Plan and the GHG inventory to ensure they meet international best practices. 

In fiscal year 2019, the Bank Group announced a new corporate carbon emissions reduction target to reduce direct and indirect carbon emissions from its global facilities by 28 percent by 2026, from a 2016 baseline. As part of this effort, in fiscal year 2020, the Bank Group signed the Cool Food Pledge, committing to reduce food-related emissions from cafeterias, coffee bars, and catering operations at headquarters by 25 percent by 2030. Responsibility for minimizing GHG emissions from Washington, DC, headquarters campus and country offices falls under the Bank’s Regional Management Teams, headed by Regional Vice Presidents, as well as the Director of Global Corporate Solutions. This topic applies to the World Bank’s corporate impact boundary.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted intended progression towards sustainability goals, including a delay in conducting an energy audit of the headquarter campus. 

Gases included in all calculations are CO2 , CH4 , N2O, and HFCs. There are no known emissions of PFCs, SF6 or NF3 , as detailed in the World Bank Group’s Inventory Management Plan. There are no biogenic CO2 emissions. Base year for this calculation is fiscal year 2016, which began on July 1, 2015. Fiscal year 2016 was chosen as the base year because the previous target was ending. Information on methodology, emissions factors, Global Warming Potential (GWP) rates, and consolidation approach are in the Inventory Management Plan for fiscal year 2019.

For more information, see https://www.worldbank.org/corporateresponsibility.

305-1: DIRECT (SCOPE 1) GHG EMISSIONS

The World Bank measures direct GHG emissions for its internal operations based on site-specific data for facilities. Estimates are made for those facilities with missing data. In fiscal year 2019, there was an overall decrease in World Bank Scope 1 emissions from fiscal year 2018. 

305-2: ENERGY INDIRECT (SCOPE 2) GHG EMISSIONS

The World Bank measures indirect GHG emissions for its internal operations based on site-specific data for facilities. Estimates are made for those facilities with missing data. In fiscal year 2019, Scope 2 emissions from the Bank’s global offices continued to decrease, to 42,654 mtCO2e.

Scope 1 emissions (mtCO2e) FY19 FY18 FY17 FY16 (Base year)

World Bank total 7,114 8,490 7,829 6,970

U. S. facilities and vehicles 631 877 944 975 

Country office facilities and vehicles 6,482  7,613  6,885  5,996

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305-3: OTHER INDIRECT (SCOPE 3) GHG EMISSIONS

The World Bank measures indirect GHG emissions from air travel by Bank employees, as well as delegate air travel, and other indirect emissions associated with major meetings that the Bank organizes. In fiscal year 2012, the Bank began measuring GHG emissions from contractor-owned vehicles. 

In fiscal year 2019, these emissions totaled approximately 103,629 mtCO2e, a slight increase from fiscal year 2018 emissions of 102,139 mtCO2e. This increase can be attributed to increased business travel and the implementation of a new business-travel emissions calculation methodology—we are now using the ICAO calculator rather than the previous methodology, the UK DEFRA emission factors. Base year emissions in fiscal year 2016 equaled 90,046 mtCO2e.

305-4: GHG EMISSIONS INTENSITY

Overall, the fiscal year 2019 scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity for the Bank’s 157 global facilities decreased because the overall emissions were down and the total global occupied office space was larger than fiscal year 2018. The scope 3 emissions per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee decreased with a slight increase in employee air travel emissions and an increase in FTE. For employee air travel emissions, the World Bank Group transitioned from the UK DEFRA emission factors to the ICAO emissions calculator for fiscal year 2019. ICAO emissions calculations are based on the best publicly available industry data to account for various parameters such as aircraft type, route specific information, passenger load factor, and cargo carried while UK DEFRA emission factors are average factors for short, medium, and long haul flights. 

Emissions scopes FY19 FY18 FY17 FY16 (Base year)

Scopes 1 and 2 (mtCO2e per square meter) 0.080 0.085  0.085  0.087

Scope 3 (mtCO2e per FTE) 5.96 6.00  5.65  5.57

Scope 2 emissions (mtCO2e) FY19 FY18 FY17 FY16 (Base year)

World Bank total 42,654 43,663 45,139 46,050

US 27,569  28,317  29,151  32,725 

Country offices 15,085  15,346  15,988  13,325

Scope 3 emissions (mtCO2e) FY19 FY18 FY17 FY16 (Base year)

World Bank total 103,629  102,139  95,216  90,046

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The World Bank measures GHG emissions intensity in two distinct categories. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are normalized per square meter, while Scope 3 emissions, pertaining to employee air travel, are normalized per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee, which consists of staff and short-term consultants. Prior to fiscal year 2017 reporting, FTE did not include consultants, just number of staff.

305-5: REDUCTION OF GHG EMISSIONS

Between fiscal years 2018-2019, the Bank's global emissions within the organization (scope 1 and 2) were reduced by 2,385 mtCO2e, predominantly through reductions in electricity use. Efficiency projects at U.S. headquarters contributed to an emissions reduction of around 994 mtCO2e.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: WASTE

The World Bank views reducing effluent and waste production as a material aspect because of potential negative environmental impacts, including the release of persistent toxic chemicals through waste disposed of in landfills and through incineration. This topic is material within the Bank's corporate boundary.

The Bank has worked to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills through a combination of source reduction, reuse, composting, and recycling. Its strategies include: (1) minimizing the amount of material brought into Bank facilities; (2) avoiding unnecessary packaging for purchased items; (3) encouraging minimum purchase thresh-olds for office supplies; and (4) mandating that large purchases from vendors be delivered in bulk instead of individually packaged.

Responsibility for managing this impact area is shared by the Senior Manager of Corporate Real Estate in Global Corporate Solutions; the Senior Manager of Corporate Procurement; and Regional Management Teams, headed by Regional Vice Presidents. 

306-2: MANAGEMENT OF SIGNIFICANT WASTE-RELATED IMPACTS

Total hazardous waste for fiscal year 2020, all disposed of appropriately by a third party, was 567.4 pounds of medical waste, 30 pounds of refrigerant 407C, 190 gallons of recycled fluids, including paint and used oil, and 60 gallons of flammable debris. 

Typical waste items from World Bank facilities include paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, food waste, toner cartridges, carpet tiles, and electronics.

Total nonhazardous waste produced by the Bank's Washington, DC, offices in fiscal year 2020 was 1,663 metric tons, compared to 2,248 metric tons in fiscal year 2019. The decrease in landfill and recycling is mainly attributed to the office closure in March 2020 due to COVID-19, leaving approximately 3 months at the end of the fiscal year with no waste. However, the composting and food donations for the 9 months the offices were open in fiscal year 2020 were the same or higher compared to the full 12 months of operation in fiscal year 2019. 

The increase in composting in fiscal year 2020 is due to the introduction of compost bins across 4 of the Bank’s DC buildings at the end of fiscal year 2019, giving HQ staff access to composting throughout these 4 buildings that had not been previously available. The food donations for fiscal year 2020 were similar to fiscal year 2019 because as the offices were closing in March 2020, any leftover food in the cafeterias and catering services was either donated or composted. Both the increase in composting and reduction of landfill waste contributed to the higher overall waste diversion rate.  

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Waste disposal information is provided by the Bank's waste management contractor that manages landfill, recyclables, and compostable waste and the electronic-waste recycler, subcontracted through the computer electronics provider, which provides information on the number of computers and other IT assets recycled yearly. Weights from roll-off compactors used for landfilled waste and recycling are exact weights to the closest one tenth of a ton.

Waste streams (metric tons) FY20 FY19 FY18

Waste diverted from landfill (%) 67 61 62

Total nonhazardous waste in Washington, DC (metric tons)

1663 2,248 2,470

Landfill  548  887 933 

Recycling* 693  1,021 1,152 

Compost 415  334  381 

Food donation 7 7 4

* Includes paper, bottles and cans, cardboard, toner cartridges, carpet tiles, construction waste recycled and electronics.

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Social Disclosures

GRI 400 Social Standards Series

MATERIAL TOPICS: HUMAN RESOURCES, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, STAFF LEARNING, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, NONDISCRIMINATION, CHILD LABOR, RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, HUMAN RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: HUMAN RESOURCES

This topic is material within the Bank's corporate boundary. Stakeholders, including potential employees, shareholders (the Board), as well as sustainable and impact investors, recognize that the way the Bank manages staff, its most valuable resource, is highly relevant to its business impact. Human resources policies apply across the WBG agencies. However, staff numbers provided in this GRI Index pertain to World Bank staff only. 

World Bank staff come from over 170 countries. Their diversity and global reach stand out among international financial institutions and other development organiza-tions. Bank staff include economists, educators, environmental scientists, financial analysts, foresters, agronomists, engineers, information technology specialists, social scientists, and others, and offer clients a unique combination of global expertise and in-depth local knowledge. To deliver on its mission, the World Bank strives to be the best place to work in development by offering an employee value proposition that attracts, motivates, and retains world-class, diverse talent with the critical skills, experiences, mindsets, and behaviors needed to effectively respond to complex and constantly evolving client needs. To capitalize on these comparative advantages requires an understanding of where the business is headed and the skills mix required, coupled with the ability to identify, grow, and deploy talent in a proactive and deliberate way, as envisioned under the institution's HR strategy.

The World Bank's HR strategy (FY20-22) establishes people management as a shared accountability between executive leadership, the Human Resources Vice Presidency (HRD), managers, and staff. It sets out a three-year roadmap of HR programs and priorities focused on achieving the business objectives outlined in the Forward Look.

Staff Policies

The World Bank's employment policies are articulated in its Staff Manual, which is established by the institution and periodically reviewed and revised to ensure relevance and suitability for both staff and the business. The Manual includes the principles of staff employment and general obligations of the Bank and staff, as well as policies governing core human resource processes. These policies are supported by procedures that guide its implementation.

The Bank's Human Resources Vice Presidency monitors and reports on implementation of the People Strategy through regular engagements with the Board and senior management. A strategy scorecard tracks progress against a set of key performance indicators that align with the priorities of the three-year strategy, and the Corporate

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Scorecard includes a number of talent management indicators. Regular staff engagement surveys provide crucial input on the mood of the organization and issues for management to tackle. Periodic internal audits of key HR processes identify areas for improvement and result in follow-up action plans that address highlighted findings. 

401-1: EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

In fiscal year 2020, the World Bank hired 775 new staff, half of them in non-US offices. Just over half (52 percent) of new staff were female.  

Staff hired

FY20 FY19

Number % of total Number % of total

United States 391 50% 390 49%

Female 213  55%  209 54% 

Male 178 46%  181 46% 

Non-US offices 384 50% 402 51%

Female 200 50%  216  54% 

Male 184 46%  186  46% 

Age

Under 30 142 18% 150 19%

30-50 560 72% 569 72%

50+ 73 9% 73 9%

Total hires 775 792

Of which Female  413  52%  425  54% 

Of which Male  362  46%  367  46% 

In fiscal year 2020, 639 staff left the institution, representing a turnover rate of 5.2 percent. The table below shows the breakdown by age group, gender and region.

Staff exits

FY20 FY19

Number % of total Number % of total

United States 411 64% 390 49%

Female 202 41%  209 54% 

Male 209 43%  181 46% 

Non-US offices 228 36% 402 51%

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Staff exits

FY20 FY19

Number % of total Number % of total

Female 113  34%  216  54% 

Male 115  35%  186  46% 

Age

Under 30 37 6% 68 8%

30-50 305 48% 399 49%

50+ 297 46% 352 43%

Total exits 639 819

Of which Female  315  38%  376  46% 

Of which Male  324  40%  443  54% 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH (DISCLOSURES 103-1 – 103-3): HEALTH AND SAFETY

The World Bank Group is implementing a phased strategic change process, moving from a medically oriented service that primarily responded to emerging health needs, to an integrated Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) model emphasizing risk management and prevention. WBG is committed to making every effort to protect and promote staff health and safety wherever they may be, taking account of their individual health status, working environment, and job demands. This is achieved by managing health and safety risks, offering evidence-based, quality controlled and integrated OHS services, and nurturing trust in staff through professionalism and confidentiality. 

A network of regional health and safety advisors work together to enhance staff health, safety, and well-being via technical assistance outreach and health and safety assessments undertaken at WBG global locations. Health and safety assessments are achieved by managing health and safety risks through pre-deployment briefings; offering evidence-based, quality-controlled OHS services; enhancing capacity in offices in fragile, conflict, and violent situations; and nurturing trust in clients. The World Bank Group's Enterprise Risk Committee, and its subordinate OHS Practitioners Committee, is tasked with developing, implementing, and evaluating an OHS manage-ment system that applies to Bank staff worldwide. 

To determine what is a hazard to health and safety within the WBG and put into place controls to reduce the risk that hazard presents, the institution has established an OHS Risk Management Program. The program provides the method by which such hazards are identified within the workplace, translates exposure to these hazards into associated risk, and transforms this risk information into control plans. These plans are applicable at all levels of OHS hazard management from the lowest level hazard through to significant hazards. The WBG adopted an Integrated approach to Health and Safety to provide a wider image of the health and safety hazards and associated risk inherent in the diverse operational scope of the WBG and how these hazards may impact the individual. The basis of this Integrated Health and Safety approach is centered around three dimensions.

1. Population Health: Individual health risk is defined as a combination of modifiable behaviors, genetic predisposition, and existing, treatable medical conditions. 

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It is central that these health risks are identified and addressed before they lead to chronic conditions which negatively affect personal quality of life and produc-tivity. Health risk categorization is based on a self-reported, industry-standard benchmark of individual health risk factors. Work activities influence staff. These effects may be both beneficial and detrimental and may influence the individual's health or well-being as part of the workforce. Inclusive in the individual health dimension is any health or medical-related pre-employment criteria for staff, related biomedical and/or health screening, and prophylactics/vaccinations, etc. that may be necessary given their exposure to specific hazards as part of their work. 

2. Work Environment: Numerous hazards exist in work environments, especially in industrial settings, however even large occupancy buildings have an industrial component among those supporting units.

3. General Environment: The WBG's diverse and unique workforce lives and operates within a global environment which impacts every staff member's health and safety daily. The security risk management system covers many aspects of the general environment such as natural (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme weather) and man-made risks (e.g. road traffic accidents, fire safety, etc.). Such events will undoubtedly generate significant OHS hazards requiring control measures that are safety oriented. To facilitate OHS communication and familiarization there are multiple e-learning trainings on Occupational Health, Safety, and Well-Being including Travel Health, Mental Health, and Resiliency available for all staff and consultants. This training is available globally through the WBG OLC, in person, or remotely via video conferencing.

The Head of the WBG Health and Safety Directorate is a Director who reports directly to the WBG Managing Director-Chief Administrative Officer. 

403-1: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The World Bank is dedicated to defining and implementing an OHS management system in accordance with external best practice (ISO 45001) and the WBG Directive on an OHS Management System was approved in January 2018. 

Responsibility for occupational health and safety is shared by all World Bank Staff, including senior management, managers, and supervisors, as well as contractors and visitors as seen in the WBG Health and Safety Directive and staff manual.

403-2: HAZARD IDENTIFICATION, RISK ASSESSMENT, AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

The procedure(s) for hazard identification and risk assessment consider: 

a. outine and non-routine activities; 

b. activities of all persons involved in WBG undertakings (including contractors and visitors); human behavior, capabilities and other human factors; 

c. identified hazards originating outside the workplace capable of adversely affecting the health and safety of persons under the control of the organization within the workplace; 

d. hazards created in the vicinity of the workplace, by work-related activities, under the control of the organization; 

e. infrastructure, equipment, and materials at the workplace, whether provided by the organization or others; 

f. changes or proposed changes in the organization, its activities, or materials; 

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g. any applicable legal obligations relating to risk assessment and implementation of necessary controls and monitoring standards; 

h. the design of work area processes, installations, machinery/equipment, operating procedures and work organization, including their adaptation to human capabilities; 

i. location-based factors including health risks from disease, air quality, food, water, security situations, effects of seasonal change (hot/cold/wet/dry), levels of violence, etc.

The proactive systematic identification of hazards assesses scope, nature, and impact, enabling the evaluation, prioritization, and documentation of risks, and the appli-cation of appropriate controls. It is a deliberate and considered system generating both generic, specific, and job-related assessments. However, a complete system will also involve a reactive element. This reactive element is based on the reality that during activities things may go wrong. A dynamic (on the spot) risk assessment may be conducted in relation to events occurring or about to occur at the time.

There are many indicators of successful risk mitigation in the work environment, such as the lowering of the incidence of worker compensation claims, loss time injury rates, sick leave incidence, etc. The ongoing review of hazards and controls attempt not to only focus on the negative effects, but also the positive upshot that the controls are generally working and that incidents are a rare occurrence.

The risk assessment process starts with the completion of a fully comprehensive health and safety hazard identification survey. Once these hazards have been identi-fied the control measures currently in place must be evaluated; and the associated remaining risk calculated. Where the remaining risk is high or unacceptable, the development and implementation of further appropriate controls is necessary, and a re-examination of the remaining risk conducted to determine if this is remaining risk is acceptable. This process leads to the development of an OHS Risk Management Plan. Continuing risk reviews must be undertaken when there is a reasonable OHS risk associated with: a. the occurrence of an injury or near miss, which reveals a previously unidentified or uncontrolled hazard; b. the introduction of new equip-ment, offices, procedures or processes; c. the modification of equipment, procedures, or processes; or d. a change in specific circumstances that increases the risk to an individual (e.g. significant change in work process and structures, pregnancy, return to work from a long-term condition, status change of the health or security-level of a country or specific location). It is important to note that when conducting a risk assessment that relates to a process or a task, the full task or process is assessed. Risks cannot always be assessed effectively in isolation from their process. The Risk Register contains a summary of the identified hazards within the WBG. It provides a referenced overview of these hazards, an appreciation of what would be considered as low, medium, or high risk, and information on the current control measures that are in use in the WBG. Essentially it is a living document: as more risk assessments are conducted the information contained within the register is updated and improved. The WBG, has a wide variety of office locations, functions, activities and levels of risks. A hazard may exist in one country office but not in others, or the level of risk for a specific hazard may differ significantly. A knowledge base of hazards and control measures, standards and procedures, and methodologies is crucial to form a comprehensive overview of the organization and its inherent or actual OHS risk. Assessment of psychosocial risk is undertaken using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire.

All World Bank Group staff are empowered—and have the responsibility—to identify and report any unsafe workplace acts or situations to management. Staff policies and procedures, as defined in the staff manual, clearly identify ways in which workers can report work-related hazards and hazardous situations, including reporting directly to HSD, emailing the World Bank Group help desk, and reporting to management. In addition, a formal software tool for the reporting of any work-related hazards and hazardous situations is under development. Workers are protected against reprisals by World Bank Group's Internal Justice Services which endeavors to support staff to preserve fairness in the workplace. 

WBG Staff are protected by the rights and obligations as identified in the staff rules and supported by the instruments available to staff via the WBG Internal Justice and Business Ethics units.

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403-3: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES

The WBG Health and Safety Directorate provides a comprehensive suite of Occupational Health and Safety and personal health risk management services through the following functional units: 

• Occupational Health and Safety, which addresses individual, workplace, and global, health and safety issues; 

• Travel Health and Wellness, which addresses health risks of travel and relocation, and manages an outsourced, full-service, on-site Primary Health Care Center for staff, dependents, and retirees at headquarters in Washington, DC, run according to a Patient-Centered Medical Home Model. The WBG also offers an outsourced Health and Wellness program which allows staff to identify and manage their health risks, obtain health and wellness coaching, and have clinical nurse manager support for living with chronic medical conditions; 

• Field Health Services, which enable staff to access healthcare across the globe, for both routine and emergency healthcare needs; and the

• Mental Health and Well-being Unit, which addresses psychosocial support needs. Staff with clinical functions are required to have active professional registration in the countries where they are performing their clinical duties.

The Health and Safety Directorate is cross supported by other vice-presidential units, including Human Resources; and Directorates such as Global Corporate Solutions, which houses Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Security, and Travel units. The World Bank Group's OHS Committee, which reports to the Enterprise Risk Management Committee (ERC) of Senior Management, is tasked with developing, implementing, and overseeing an OHS management system that applies to Bank employees world-wide. The occupational health and safety management system being implemented by the Committee is based on ISO 45001. The committee forms multidisciplinary, ad-hoc working groups to address specific concerns, such as a working group for air pollution, which developed guidelines for staff and managers in country offices where air quality is a recognized health hazard. The committee is supported by a community of practice supporting Senior Management and staff. The practitioner committee can designate multidisciplinary ad-hoc working groups, which can develop and submit guidelines to the high-level ERC for decision. To address global health issues, the committee collaborates with the United Nations and other international organizations.

403-4: WORKER PARTICIPATION, CONSULTATION, AND COMMUNICATION ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

The World Bank Group's Occupational Health and Safety Committee meets quarterly to address health and safety issues as they globally relate to staff worldwide. The committee is chaired by the Director of HSD and includes occupational health specialists, environmental consultants, and Senior Management representatives from headquarters and offices outside the United States, HRD, Internal Justice, Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Security, Fire and Life Safety, Legal, Procurement, Corporate Responsibility, the Staff Association, Budget, and additional specialists and members as required. To address staff concerns, the committee forms multidisciplinary ad-hoc task working groups under the guidance of the ERC.

The Occupational Health and Safety Committee is a committee on occupational health and safety as described in the World Bank Group Procedure with decision-making and guidance related to: 

• Developing an organizational strategy for the WBG on implementing an o OHS management system; 

• Providing advice to units implementing OHS strategies and programs; 

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• Developing internal OHS standards; 

• Monitoring and evaluating the implementation and impact of the OHS management system and making recommendations for change; 

• Developing training programs on risk management, accident and disease prevention, and related educational activities for staff; 

• Proposing ways to incorporate lessons learned from any health and safety incidents; 

• Coordinating outreach to staff on OHS issues, questions, and suggestions; and 

• Overseeing the compiling of data on work-related injuries, incidents, and hazards into an annual report. 

The Committee meets on a quarterly basis. 

403-5: WORKER TRAINING ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

HSD has developed and implemented three online learning courses for staff which are available globally through the OLC, in person, or remotely via video conferencing. Participants in the courses gain an understanding of:

• The WBG OHS Management System, which considers the health and safety risks posed by personal health, workplace and the general environment in which staff work;

• The governance structure of the WBG's Health and Safety Management system;

• How workplace health and safety is a shared responsibility and what the WBG's role is in upholding a healthy and safe work environment;

• How to undertake a risk assessment and management approach for health, safety, and wellbeing; OHS roles and responsibilities for Managers, Supervisors and Task Team Leaders; and

• Community of Practice to be developed for Country Office OHS Focal Points including online training, virtual training and face to face instruction.

403-6: PROMOTION OF WORKER HEALTH

The World Bank Group has introduced a Patient-Centered Medical Home model that provides primary care services onsite within the World Bank Group headquarters. Instead of seeking outside care, staff and their dependents can elect to visit the expanded in-house clinic and receive care delivered by the MedStar Medical Group. 

The key features of this model include: 

• Holistic care for whole families, with a focus on maintaining health and disease prevention; 

• Patient-centered focus; 

• Team-based service approach; 

• Easy access to providers via an electronic portal; 

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• Broader spectrum of clinical services, incorporating the urgent care formerly provided by the HSD Clinic; 

• Medical home base with access to a network of specialty care; 

• Virtual Consultations; and 

• Consultation, assessment and testing related to Coronavirus SARS-cov-2 infections (COVID-19). 

The Health and Wellness program is composed of additional health support services provided to staff, dependents, and retirees in partnership with U.S. Preventive Medicine and the Cleveland Clinic. The program includes a health and wellness assessment, a personal preventive plan, the setting of individual health goals, and personalized support through a health coach or advisor who is available via email or telephone.

403-7: PREVENTION AND MITIGATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS DIRECTLY LINKED BY BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

The ESF will enable the World Bank and borrowers to better manage environmental and social risks of projects and to improve development outcomes. The ESF offers broad and systematic coverage of environmental and social risks linked to Bank-supported projects. It makes important advances in areas such as transparency, non-discrimination, public participation, and accountability, including expanded roles for grievance mechanisms.

Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) 2 and 4 address negative health and safety impacts that are directly linked to Bank-supported operations for borrowing member countries.

• ESS2: Labor and Working Conditions recognizes the importance of employment creation and income generation in the pursuit of poverty reduction and inclu-sive economic growth. Borrowers can promote sound worker-management relationships and enhance the development benefits of a project by treating workers on the project fairly and providing safe and healthy working conditions.

• ESS4: Community Health and Safety addresses the health, safety, and security risks and impacts on project-affected communities and the corresponding responsibility of borrowers to avoid or minimize such risks and impacts, with particular attention to people who, because of their particular circumstances, may be vulnerable.

403-9: WORK-RELATED INJURIES

All hazards and risks are managed in accordance with the principle of utilizing the hierarchy of controls. World Bank work-related rates are established based on 200,000 hours (100 staff x 40 hours x 50 weeks). There were 33,168,000 hours worked in calendar year 2019.

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In accordance with the WBG OHS Management System work-related hazards that pose a risk are defined in the WBG Hazard Risk Register. Each hazard is aligned to a level of risk according to industry and internal standards. A risk matrix calculates risk in accordance with severity and intensity. The WBG utilizes a 4x4 risk matrix struc-ture. The determination of current and future control measures is applied in accordance with the hierarchy of controls to establish current and residual risk tolerances. The inherent risk of significant international travel and conveyance poses the most significant risk to WBG staff. The WBG experienced one fatality, as a result of an airline crash, during the reporting period. WBG follow IATA recommendations of determination and assessment of Safe International and Global airline carriers.

All staff are included in accordance with WBG staff rules. Data are compiled in accordance with OSHA reporting criteria.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: STAFF LEARNING

The World Bank invests in staff learning to enhance technical skills and knowledge, strengthen problem-solving skills, and foster innovation to attain the Bank Group's twin goals efficiently and creatively. Staff take courses to retain and enhance cutting-edge skills as they carry out the World Bank's mission. Stakeholders, including employees, shareholders (the Boards), as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize learning and knowledge sharing as highly relevant to the Bank's business impact. This topic is material to both the Bank's corporate and operational boundaries since the Open Learning Campus (OLC) provides solutions for both staff and partners globally. Human Resources policies apply across the WBG agencies. However, numbers provided in this report pertain to World Bank staff only. 

The OLC is a single destination to accelerate development solutions through learning for WBG staff, clients, and global partners. The OLC offers a broad range of learn-ing resources via four schools: Talks, Academy, Connect and On-the-Job to provide (1) continuous learning for staff to retain and enhance cutting edge skills; and (2) staff and clients the opportunity to learn together and co-create solutions to complex development challenges. While the onus is on staff to be proactive in their learn-ing, managers are accountable for supporting the learning of their staff. Through the World Bank's performance evaluation process and career conversations, staff and managers work together on staff development objectives and career goals. Strategically selecting appropriate learning activities is a key part of this process. Staff can choose from a wide range of internal learning activities available through the OLC, or from external learning providers.

The OLC team, housed within the Open Learning Campus Unit of the Development Economics Vice Presidency, acts as an enabler and accelerator for learning across the WBG. The OLC learning ecosystem serves as a central pedagogical resource and learning platform for seven key learning programs: Operations, Leadership, Business Skills, IT Skills, Technical, Corporate, and Mandatory Trainings.

Employee Category Type Claims Case Rate

Staff Member Illness 127 .77

Injury 39 .24

Short-term Consultant Illness 14 .08

Injury 12 .07

Extended-term Consultant Illness 3 .02

Injury 1 .01

2019 Lost Workday Case Rate - All Workers Compensation Claims

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Funding for formal Staff Learning is provided to each Vice-Presidential Unit and then reallocated down to the Global Practice, departmental, or other level. Each year, the minimum amount to be set aside for Staff Learning per Vice Presidential Unit is communicated through the indicative expenditure directions, upon recommendation of the Learning Steering Group. The minimum amount is calculated based on two components: a minimum of five days on average that staff are expected to dedicate to formal Staff Learning, and an amount of variable budget available to support staff on activities calculated on a headcount basis. Every Vice-Presidential Unit has the autonomy to allocate additional resources to Staff Learning above the required minimum.

All learning activities in OLC are evaluated for scale and impact depending on length. The results of the evaluations are shared with Senior Management, along with a three-year trend analysis, to guide programs, implement course corrections, and create learning innovations.

For more information about OLC, see https://olc.worldbank.org/.

404-1: AVERAGE HOURS OF TRAINING PER YEAR PER EMPLOYEE

In fiscal year 2020, the World Bank delivered 11,224 days of learning. 58 percent of the training days were delivered either in offices outside the U.S. or via location-neu-tral formats, such as e-learning and webinars.

90 percent of the salaried workforce attended at least one learning event in fiscal year 2020, not including the corporate mandatory programs: 90 percent based in non-U.S. and 89 percent at headquarters, in Washington, DC. These individuals attended the equivalent of 45,439 days of training, averaging 3.4 days per staff member, with 3.2 in days taken by staff based in offices outside the U.S. and 3.6 days taken by Washington, DC-based staff. The decrease in average participant training days taken is attributed to COVID-19 which prevented the World Bank from conducting learning weeks and allowing staff to travel for external learning. 

In fiscal year 2020, investment in staff learning decreased by 21 percent over fiscal year 2019 and by 19 percent from fiscal year 2018 levels. The World Bank invested $59.7 million in staff learning, of which 38 percent was spent on developing and delivering learning activities, and 62 percent was spent to cover direct and indirect expenses for staff members to participate in learning (given internally and/or from external providers), including staff time and other costs.

FY18 FY19 FY20

GA-GD 3.4  3.4  2.4

GE 4.2 4.5  3.5 

GF-GG 5.6  5.9  3.9 

GH+ 4.6  4.4 2.1

ETC/ETT  N/A  3.6 4.4

JPA/JPO/SPAS  7.0 7.6  6.4 

Average participant training days taken

FY18 FY19 FY20

Male 5.3  5.2  3.2 

Female 4.8 4.9 3.7 

Average participant training days taken

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404-3: PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES RECEIVING REGULAR PERFORMANCE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT REVIEWS

In fiscal year 2020, a renewed approach to performance management has been introduced across the WBG that is focused on more continuous feedback conversa-tions and staff development. The Bank’s approach to performance encourages regular check-in conversations and feedback between staff, managers or designated supervisors, and peers throughout the year and provides a framework to support staff development and achievement of results. The process involves a cycle of setting near-term business and professional development objectives, obtaining feedback, and regularly readdressing objectives in support of accomplishing the organiza-tion's strategic priorities. At least once in a 12-month period, typically at the close of the fiscal year, all staff (excluding short term appointments) have formal feedback discussions with their manager or designated supervisor. Evaluations are based on the staff member's performance against stated objectives, additional contributions, strengths, and areas of focus. The year-end conversation also touches on plans for the upcoming performance cycle, including any professional development and train-ing needs. The Performance Management Process is outlined in the Staff Manual, Staff Rule 5.03.

In fiscal year 2020, 90 percent of WB staff completed fiscal year 2019 year-end evaluations; 76 percent of staff completed fiscal year 2020 objectives; 56 percent of staff had at least one check-in form documented; and 62 percent of staff had at least one feedback request. There are no obvious deviations per gender and employee category, see table below.

In addition to the regular performance evaluations, an integrated talent and performance management approach is undertaken by management to give the organi-zation a better understanding of the skills of staff and, to identify next steps for the staff's professional development, including targeted learning programs, stretch assignments, or rotations to other business units, as well as readiness to take on greater responsibilities. Given the unprecedented business demands resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the fiscal year 2020 year-end evaluation process was simplified to allow staff and managers to focus their efforts on critical work priorities caused by the crisis, and included briefer write-ups, a special performance rating and a standard salary increase for reduced calibration efforts.

Report Type Org %Gender Appointment Type

Male Female Term Open Ended

FY19 End-yearWBG 91% 48% 52% 45% 55%

Bank* 90% 48% 52% 43% 57%

FY20 ObjectivesWBG 72% 47% 53% 49% 51%

Bank* 76% 48% 52% 47% 53%

FY20 Check-insWBG 63% 47% 53% 50% 50%

Bank* 56% 48% 52% 47% 53%

FY20 Ongoing feedbackWBG 55% 46% 54% 51% 49%

Bank* 62% 47% 53% 48% 52%

Note: there are more female staff than male staff at WBG (53% vs 47%) and there are slightly more staff on open term than term appointments (51% vs 49%).*Includes IBRD and GEF

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MANAGEMENT APPROACH: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The World Bank is committed to creating a workplace where everyone is valued, differences are respected and celebrated, and opportunity and equitable treatment are afforded to all. Ensuring diversity and inclusion are integrated into our daily work means creating a positive culture through practices that recognize, value, and harness what makes every individual unique in the broader sense, and by acknowledging and respecting differences and similarities, including nationality, gender and gender identity, race, religion, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, and educational background. World Bank stakeholders have raised this topic as an important corpo-rate priority.

The World Bank recognizes that meeting the demands and needs of its diverse client base more effectively means the Bank must consider a range of ideas and perspec-tives to find the best solution to development challenges. The Articles of Agreement for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association emphasize the need to "pay due regard to the importance of recruiting personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible" when appoint-ing Bank officers and staff, "subject to the paramount importance of securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence." This directive was reiter-ated in the 1983 Principles of Staff Employment, approved by the Executive Directors, to set forth the broad policies according to which the President shall manage staff. These principles direct the Bank to "encourage diversity in staffing consistent with the nature and objectives of the Organizations." In addition to reflecting the World Bank's global nature, the importance of staff diversity in enhancing the effectiveness and credibility of the Bank's institutions has been underscored by ongoing reforms to increase the voice and participation of emerging markets and developing countries at the Bank. The World Bank manages these commitments and directives through an integrated approach that focuses on three pillars: advocacy (demonstrate leadership and build partnerships), accountability (set goals and measure outcomes), and inclusion (embed diversity and inclusion into talent processes and create an inclusive environment).

The World Bank measures the effectiveness of its efforts through Diversity and Inclusion Compacts, which establish both diversity and inclusion targets and identify specific actions to achieve the targets. The diversity targets include parity in management by gender and country part (Part I versus Part II-roughly equivalent to devel-oped and developing countries, respectively), as well as by gender among full-time staff at professional grades (grade GF+) in non-managerial roles. Inclusion targets are derived from staff responses on the annual engagement survey, which includes a set of questions comprising the Inclusion Index. The World Bank Group Compact, which is signed by the President and his senior team, is cascaded through all Vice-Presidential Units. 

Progress against the Compact targets and actions are reported monthly and reviewed quarterly. In addition to the Compacts, actions to improve staff perceptions on the engagement survey, including the Inclusion Index, are developed and tracked at the World Bank and Vice-Presidential Unit level. 

405-1: DIVERSITY OF GOVERNANCE BODIES AND EMPLOYEES

Executive Directors: Representatives on the World Bank Boards of Governors and Board of Executive Directors are determined by member countries. Of the 25 Executive Director Board members, 6 were women in fiscal year 2020.

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Since 1998, the World Bank has measured the diversity of staff based on gender and nationality. Nationality has been measured in the aggregate by Part I and II contrib-uting member status, with a focus on management. For gender, the Bank has focused on the percentage of women in professional grades and management. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, the Bank changed to measuring gender at all grades, with a goal of gender parity. And nationality is focused on having teams which represent 20 sub-regions globally, based on where and how we do business.

In fiscal year 2020, women accounted for 52.6 percent of all staff, compared to 47.4 percent for men. 

405-2: RATIO OF BASIC SALARY AND REMUNERATION OF WOMEN TO MEN

To recruit and retain highly qualified staff, the WBG has developed a compensation and benefits system designed to hire the best talent in the global market, reward performance, and consider the special needs of a multinational and largely expatriate staff. The Executive Directors annually consider a proposal for a salary increase in line with a Board-approved methodology that entails a market-based approach, which compares compensation paid by private financial and industrial firms and by public sector organizations in local reference markets, including the U.S. The grading system and benchmark job positions are unified across the WBG and its locations. World Bank policies apply to all staff working in World Bank offices globally. World Bank salary structures do not differentiate by gender. This methodology was reviewed in fiscal year 2018 for headquarters-appointed staff and in fiscal year 2019 for country office-appointed staff. Remuneration of executive management, Executive Directors, and staff are disclosed in the World Bank Annual Report.

In fiscal year 2017, the WBG Development Research Group, in collaboration with the Gender Cross Cutting Solution Area and Human Resources, completed a landmark study, Compensation, Diversity and Inclusion at the World Bank Group. This study leveraged 25+ years of human resources data to explore the issue of pay parity 

Full-time staff2020 2019

Number % of total % of total % of total

Age

Under 30 368  3%  440 4% 

30-50 7,610  61%  7,633  62% 

50+ 4,416  36%  4,210 34% 

Total 12,394  12,283 

Diversity profile of WB staff by age group, FY19-FY20

Indicator Category Number % of total % of total

Administrative and Support Staff  50%  30.6%  69.4% 

Entry and Junior Technical  50%  45.3%  54.7% 

Senior Technical 50%  58.5%  41.5% 

Managers 50%  54.8%  45.2% 

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among WBG populations, including by gender. Key results included the observation that the WBG has an aggregate salary gap between genders, but that the gap has decreased significantly over the 25+ years of the analysis. The aggregate salary gap is mainly caused by the gender composition of different grades at entry and through progression. In fiscal year 2018, follow-up actions were put in place, including the biannual production of a report that HRD and managers use to address compensation outliers and more closely monitor salary parity upon entry to the institution. These actions continued through fiscal year 2019. 

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: NONDISCRIMINATION

The WBG core values are impact, integrity, respect, teamwork, and innovation. WBG staff are strongly encouraged to work together in teams with openness and trust; empowering others and respecting differences; encouraging risk-taking and responsibility; and enjoying both work and family, as detailed in the Code of Conduct. 

Stakeholders, including prospective employees, our shareholders (the Boards), as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize that the way we manage discrim-ination, ethical behavior, and adherence to corporate core values is highly relevant to our business impact. This topic is material within the World Bank's corporate boundary.

Staff

Staff members are required to uphold WBG Staff Rules as a condition of employment and adherence to the Code of Conduct is specified in contracts with employees. A new Code of Ethics will replace the existing Code of Conduct.

Due to its immunities from most national courts, the Bank provides staff comprehensive grievance mechanisms to address and resolve workplace issues through infor-mal and formal services. These services encourage collaboration among staff, provide space for the effective management of conflict, and increase the Bank's capacity to build and retain a globally representative workforce.

Board

There is a separate Code of Conduct for Board officials. Business partners are informed of ethics expectations through a separate document. Adherence to high ethical standards is specified in contracts, Board officials, and business partners. Section 1(c) of the Code for Board Officials requires them to sign the code document upon assuming duty and deposit it with the Ethics Committee of the Board.

EBC regularly monitors the level of allegations of misconduct and the information is part of risk management reporting. The Group-wide Staff Engagement Survey contains questions related to the occurrence of harassment and sexual harassment, which are analyzed by EBC and the Internal Justice Services. EBC is also implement-ing root cause analysis at the end of evaluations, reviewing the factors that enabled a misconduct to take place.

Stakeholders, including prospective employees, our shareholders (the Boards), as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize that the way we manage discrim-ination, ethical behavior, and adherence to corporate core values is highly relevant to our business impact. This topic is material within the World Bank's corporate boundary.

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406-1: INCIDENTS OF DISCRIMINATION AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN

In fiscal year 2020, EBC reviewed four allegations of discrimination, all of which were related to racial, ethnic or nationality discrimination. There is public disclosure of the number of cases investigated and of the resulting sanctions in EBC's annual report and in EBC's website quarterly. The World Bank Group has set up an anti-racism task force to prevent any form of racial discrimination.

At the end of fiscal year 2019, EBC created the new function of Anti-Harassment Coordinator (AHC), a position that reviews cases of sexual harassment and harassment. The AHC can caution staff and managers about alleged inappropriate behaviors and to recommend remediation plans, often including the participation by management in remediation decisions. Instances of discrimination-based harassment would be either remediated on that basis or, for more egregious cases, through an investigation into misconduct.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: CHILD LABOR

The World Bank recognizes that child labor is one of the most devastating consequences of persistent poverty. Stakeholders, including potential employees, share-holders (the Boards), as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize this topic to be relevant to our business impact. This topic is material in the World Bank's operational boundary. The operational boundary is the project area of influence of a Bank-financed project. 

All standard World Bank bidding documents contain a clause prohibiting the use of child or forced labor in contracts financed under any World Bank projects. Staff in Bank-supported operations are required to assess social issues, such as child labor, within the environmental and social aspects of the projects and develop specific measures that would be implemented during the project to mitigate the risk.

Under the ESF, the Bank classifies all investment projects into one of four classifications: High Risk, Substantial Risk, Moderate Risk, or Low Risk. In determining the appropriate risk classification, the Bank will take into account relevant issues, such as the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the project; the nature and magnitude of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts; and the capacity and commitment of the Borrower (including any other entity responsible for the implemen-tation of the project) to manage the environmental and social risks and impacts in a manner consistent with the Environmental and Social Standards.

The ESF includes a standalone standard on Labor and Working Conditions (ESS2). The objectives of ESS2 are: 

• To promote safety and health at work; 

• To promote the fair treatment and nondiscrimination of, and equal opportunity for project workers; 

• To protect project workers, including vulnerable workers such as women, persons with disabilities, children (of working age, in accordance with this ESS), and migrant workers, contracted workers, community workers, and primary supply workers, as appropriate; 

• To prevent the use of all forms of forced labor and child labor; 

• To support the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining of project workers in a manner consistent with national law; and 

• To provide project workers with accessible means to raise workplace concerns.

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The specific ESS2 provision on Child Labor is the following: 

• A child under the minimum age established in accordance with this paragraph will not be employed or engaged in connection with the project.

• The labor management procedures will specify the minimum age for employment or engagement in connection with the project, which will be the age of 14 unless national law specifies a higher age. 

• A child over the minimum age and under the age of 18 may be employed or engaged in connection with the project only under the following specific conditions: the work does not fall under paragraph 19 below; an appropriate risk assessment is conducted prior to the work commencing; and the borrower conducts regular monitoring of health, working conditions, hours of work, and the other requirements of this ESS. 

• A child over the minimum age and under the age of 18 will not be employed or engaged in connection with the project in a manner that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with the child's education or be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development.

The World Bank's Grievance Redress Service (GRS) provides an additional, accessible way for individuals and communities to complain directly to the World Bank if they believe that a World Bank-financed project had or is likely to have adverse effects on them or their community. The GRS enhances the World Bank's responsiveness and accountability by ensuring that grievances are promptly reviewed and responded to, and problems and solutions are identified by working together.

The World Bank's IEG evaluates the development effectiveness of the WBG. IEG's work provides evaluative evidence to help the Bank Group deliver better services and results to its clients. IEG does so by generating lessons from past experience and accountability to shareholders and stakeholders at large. IEG is independent of the management of the WBG and reports directly to the Executive Board. 

The World Bank's Internal Audit Vice Presidency (IAD) is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity that helps to improve WBG operations. It assists the institution in accomplishing its objectives by evaluating the effectiveness of WBG governance, risk management, and control processes. Furthermore, IAD advises management in developing control solutions and monitors the implementation of management's corrective actions. IAD's work is carried out in accordance with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) International Professional Practices Framework. 

408-1: OPERATIONS AND SUPPLIERS AT SIGNIFICANT RISK FOR INCIDENTS OF CHILD LABOR

The Bank recognizes that in certain sectors (e.g. agriculture, mining) and geographies, the prevalence and risks associated with child labor are more pronounced. This risk metric is accounted for when the World Bank screens each proposed project, including those financed through financial intermediaries, to determine the appro-priate extent and type of environmental and social analysis to be undertaken during project preparation and the proportionate level of social and environmental risk management and due diligence during project implementation. It is also accounted for in determining the project's risk classification, where the Bank will take into account relevant issues, such as the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the project; the nature and magnitude of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts; and the capacity and commitment of the Borrower (including any other entity responsible for the implementation of the project) to manage the environmental and social risks and impacts in a manner consistent with the Environmental and Social Standards. These requirements inform project design and the specific measures that the Borrower will implement to mitigate potential child labor risks.

In instances where domestic and foreign suppliers are likely to be contracted in the procurement process, the contractor is mandated to inquire whether the supplier has been accused or sanctioned for any child labor issues. The Borrower is required to ensure that the standards of the primary suppliers on child labor adhere to national law and are in line with ESS2 requirements. 

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In procurement for large works contracts, bidders must submit a formal declaration disclosing their past environmental and social performance. The declaration relates to any breach of environmental and social requirements resulting in a civil works contract being suspended or terminated or performance security being called in. The Borrower can use this information to inform further due diligence. If a bidder misrepresents the facts or misses out an important fact, they can be disqualified from the bidding process and may be subject to the Bank's sanctions regime.

In the agriculture sector, specific attention is now being focused on agricultural commodities. For example, cocoa, cashew, coffee and cotton, with West Africa are an area of high concern. Types of operations include general sector support in agriculture, infrastructure construction and operation (mining, community-driven development). 

During the reporting period, avenues for Bank engagement on child labor included analytical work focusing on developing an understanding of child labor issues; project-level social risk management in lending operations; and activities/components embedded in advisory and lending operations and programs to support client countries in addressing child labor challenges. The Bank has implemented or participated in enhanced third party monitoring and feedback mechanisms to mitigate child labor risk in selected projects in its portfolio, in countries and sectors where child labor is more prevalent.

Work was also done during the reporting period to further strengthen the link between the ESF and the Bank's Procurement Policy. The relationship between these two policy areas is important; procurement is a key ESF delivery mechanism as many environmental and social issues need to be addressed by contractors, subcontrac-tors and primary suppliers. Done properly, the procurement process includes minimum requirements for bidders, creates the contractor's legal obligations to manage specified ESF risks and sets out borrower remedies if the contractor does not meet its obligations. The Bank revised the Standard Procurement Document (SPD) for large works by incorporating ESF provisions into the conditions of contract of the SPD. This is designed to make the work of task teams easier, in that the relevant ESF requirements are now included in the Bank's standard procurement documentation. The child labor provision reflects ESS2 requirements on child labor as applicable to contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. New training and resources were also rolled out to staff, to enhance staff knowledge and understanding of procurement related aspects of the ESF and how to apply them in support of projects.

Borrowers are continuously developing Labor Management Procedures for Bank-financed projects under the ESF, with the advice and guidance provided by Bank Specialists, as a planning tool useful for specifying relevant child labor requirements such as the minimum age for employment, the process to be followed to verify the age of project workers, the procedures to be followed if underage workers are found working on the project, and the procedure for conducting risk assessments for workers aged between the minimum age and 18. New training and resources were also rolled out to staff, to build-up internal capacity relating to the preparation of Labor Management Procedures. 

During the period under review, the Bank commissioned a review to assess global efforts to address child labor in different sectors and has been feeding results from these lessons learned into dialogue with partners at international, regional and national levels and into concrete design decisions for new Bank operations. In parallel, several regions within the WBG have been undertaking reviews of labor legislation and practice through the drafting of country labor profiles, including write ups on child labor policy and prevalence.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Central to the World Bank's mission of reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner is ensuring that the development process fully respects the dignity, economies, and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. The Bank recognizes that the identities and cultures of Indigenous Peoples are inextricably linked to the lands on which they live and the natural resources on which they depend. These distinct circumstances expose Indigenous Peoples to different types of risks 

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and levels of impacts from development projects, including loss of identity, culture, and customary livelihoods. Gender and intergenerational issues among Indigenous Peoples are also complex. As social groups with identities that are often distinct from dominant groups in their national societies, Indigenous Peoples are frequently among the most marginalized and vulnerable segments of the population. As a result, their economic, social, and legal status often limits their capacity to defend their interests in and rights to lands, territories, and other productive resources, or restricts their ability to participate in and benefit from development. At the same time, the Bank recognizes that Indigenous Peoples play a vital role in sustainable development and that their rights are increasingly being addressed under both domestic and international law.

Stakeholders, including shareholders (the Boards), Borrowers, staff, and civil society, as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize this topic to be relevant to our business impact. This topic is material in the World Bank's operational boundary. The operational boundary is the project area of influence of a Bank-financed project.

The Safeguards are the World Bank's previous Operational Policies for environmental and social risk management, while the ESF is the new system as of October 1, 2018. All new Investment Projects with Concept Note meetings on or after October 1, 2018 apply the ESF, while all IPFs approved before that date, will continue to apply the Safeguards Policies. Given the World Bank project cycle, the two systems are expected to run in parallel for the next six to seven years. 

The World Bank Safeguards Policy on Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) underscores the need for borrowers and Bank staff to identify Indigenous Peoples, consult with them, and ensure that they participate in and benefit from Bank-funded operations in a culturally appropriate way. It also emphasizes that adverse impacts on them are avoided or, where not feasible, minimized or mitigated. For all projects that are proposed for World Bank financing and are applying the Safeguard Policies, and involve Indigenous Peoples, the Bank requires the borrower to engage in a process of free, prior, and informed consultation. The Bank provides project financing only where there is broad community support to the project by the affected Indigenous Peoples. 

The ESF, advances the World Bank's existing Indigenous Peoples policy by including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and by addressing peoples in voluntary isolation, and pastoralists. FPIC is a specific right that recognizes Indigenous Peoples' right to self-determination over decisions affecting them or their territories. This provision is well harmonized with those of other international financial institutions. The review of the Bank's Safeguard Policies, which led to the development of the ESF, included a global dialogue and engagement process with Indigenous Peoples that sought to incorporate Indigenous Peoples in the review, as well as to strengthen World Bank support to and engagement with Indigenous Peoples, more generally. The consultations on the framework included several dedicated Indigenous Peoples dialogue sessions, which yielded important results in terms of participation, information gathered, and the beginning of a renewed and stronger relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

The ESF includes a Vision Statement for Sustainable Development, an Environmental and Social Policy for IPF (which applies to the Bank) and 10 Environmental and Social Standards (which apply to the Borrower). ESS 7 on Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities adopts the principle of FPIC in projects affecting Indigenous people's territories, natural resources, cultural heritage or requiring involuntary resettlement. ESS7 also provides further guidance on Indigenous Peoples in urban areas and Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation. 

The Inspection Panel is an independent complaints mechanism for people and communities who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project.

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411-1: INCIDENTS OF VIOLATIONS INVOLVING RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

In fiscal year 2020, two projects that appeared to raise complaints regarding alleged non-compliance with the Indigenous Peoples policy and were processed by the Bank's Inspection Panel: 

1.  India: Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States (Investigation) 

2.  Kenya: Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project & Kenya Urban Support Program (not registered) 

For more information, see case updates on the Inspection Panel website.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights principles essential for sustainable development, such as nondiscrimination, meaningful consultation, effective public participation, property rights, accountability, transparency and good governance, are consistently applied in the World Bank's work to end poverty and boost shared prosperity. Stakeholders, includ-ing shareholders (the Boards), Borrowers, staff, and civil society, as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize this topic to be relevant to our business impact. This topic is material within the Bank's operational boundary, a project area of influence of a World Bank-financed project.

The World Bank recognizes the importance of human rights principles in development: transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, equality of opportunity, gover-nance, empowerment, participation, and inclusion. These principles are reflected in all projects the World Bank finances. 

The ESF strengthens the Bank's commitment to disadvantaged or vulnerable individuals or groups. To provide further directions to Bank staff with regards to this issue under the ESF, in 2016 the Bank issued a Bank Directive on Addressing Risks and Impacts on Disadvantaged or Vulnerable Individuals or Groups. Under the Directive, when a project poses specific risks and impacts to individuals or groups who, because of their particular circumstances, may be disadvantaged, the task team, through its due diligence responsibilities, supports the borrower in the Environmental and Social Assessment, including in carrying out consultations, and ascertains whether (1) the environmental and social assessment has properly identified the disadvantaged or vulnerable individuals or groups; and (2) appropriate differentiated mitigation measures have been incorporated into project design and documented in relevant project material so that adverse impacts do not fall disproportionately on the disadvantaged or vulnerable, and they are not disadvantaged in sharing any development benefits resulting from the project. Additional guidance to World Bank staff on these issues is included in ESF Good Practice Notes on Gender, Non-Discrimination and Disability and Non-Discrimination: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

The World Bank's IEG evaluates the development effectiveness of the World Bank group. The World Bank's IAD is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity that helps to improve WBG operations. The Inspection Panel is an independent complaints mechanism for people and communities who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. The World Bank's GRS provides an additional, accessible way for individuals and commu-nities to complain directly to the World Bank if they believe that a World Bank-financed project had or is likely to have adverse effects on them or their community. The GRS enhances the World Bank's responsiveness and accountability by ensuring that grievances are promptly reviewed and responded to, and problems and solutions are identified by working together. 

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412-1: OPERATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEWS OR IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

One hundred percent of the investment projects financed by the World Bank were appraised in accordance with requirements per the Bank's policies to protect the environment and people potentially affected by Bank supported projects. The Bank screens each proposed project to determine the appropriate extent and type of environmental and social analysis to be undertaken during project preparation. For projects applying the Safeguard policies, this process includes a determination of and whether the project may involve the application of different safeguard policies. For projects applying the ESF, all 10 of the environmental and social standards apply, though they will have varying levels of relevance depending on the nature of the project. Environmental and social risk management, including risk mitigation measures, are also referenced in the project legal agreement, and therefore are part of the contract with the borrower.

For details on projects, see: http://projects.worldbank.org.

412-2: OPERATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEWS OR IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

World Bank environmental and social safeguard policies are a cornerstone of our support of sustainable development and poverty reduction. The objective of these policies is to prevent and mitigate undue harm to people and their environment in the development process. The safeguards and ESF trainings cover two different systems and have two different curricula and require separate training. Given the World Bank project cycle, the two systems are expected to run in parallel for the next six to seven years. All new projects come under the ESF, but any project that had a concept review before October 1, 2018 apply the old safeguards system. 

To build staff capacity on the new ESF, an ESF Internal Capacity Building Program was launched in November 2017. By the end fiscal year 2020, over 3,500 staff were trained in 170 face-to-face sessions, including Environmental and Social Specialists, Country Directors, Practice Managers, Communications Specialists, and others. 46 percent of the participants in these face-to-face sessions were trained in the field (i.e., outside of headquarters). A series of 40 ESF Learning Labs and Clinics were also held. Online e-learning courses on the ESF have reached nearly 4,500 staff and consultants. 

412-3: SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS THAT INCLUDE HUMAN RIGHTS CLAUSES OR THAT UNDERWENT HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING

Environmental and social risk management are part of the contract with the borrower. Risk management is based on the human rights principles referred to above. The World Bank does not include human rights clauses in its contracts and does not screen contracts for human rights.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The Bank screens all projects proposed for financing to determine the appropriate extent and type of potential impacts on communities and the environment. Stakeholders, including shareholders (the Boards), Borrowers, staff, and civil society, as well as Sustainable and Impact investors, recognize this topic to be relevant to our business impact. The topic is material within the Bank's operational boundaries. The operational boundary is the project area of influence of a Bank-financed project 

For Investment Projects applying the Safeguard Policies, if it is considered that a project will have adverse impacts on a community, the borrower must carry out an environmental and social impact assessment. This impact assessment will consider gender issues as part of its social analysis. The borrower is required to consult 

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on environmental and social impacts and mitigation measures with the communities affected by the project. For meaningful consultations between the borrower and project-affected groups and local NGOs, the borrower is required to provide relevant material in a timely manner prior to consultation, in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to the groups being consulted. For projects with significant risks (categories A and B under the old safeguards system), the Bank discloses the environmental and social assessment. The borrower is required to establish a project-level grievance redress mechanism for all projects with adverse impacts. The Environmental and Social Assessment process evaluates a project's potential environmental risks and impacts in its area of influence; examines project alternatives; identifies ways of improving project selection, siting, planning, design, and implementation by preventing, minimizing, mitigating, or compensating for adverse environmental and social impacts and enhancing positive impacts; and includes the process of mitigating and managing adverse environmental impacts throughout project implementation.

The ESF enhances requirements for stakeholder engagement. ESS1 of the ESF covers Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks, while ESS10 relates specifically to Stakeholder Engagement, covering both the preparation and implementation of the project. ESS10 establish a systematic approach to stakeholder engagement that helps borrowers identify stakeholders and maintain a constructive relationship with them. Borrower's must assess stakeholder interest and support for the project and enable stakeholders' views to be taken into account in project design, provide means for effective and inclusive engagement with project-affected parties throughout the project life-cycle and ensure that appropriate project information is disclosed to stakeholders in a timely, understandable, accessible and appro-priate manner. Engagement is proportionate to the nature, scale, risks and impacts of the project, and appropriate to stakeholders' interests. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) is required for every project and is prepared by the borrower. 

413-1: OPERATIONS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IMPACT ASSESSMENTS, AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

One hundred percent of World Bank investment projects require engagement with the local community. 

413-2: OPERATIONS WITH SIGNIFICANT ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES

ESF from ESF launch in Oct 2018, up to end fiscal year 2020, 64 had an environmental and social risk classification of High, 257 were Substantial, 201 Moderate, and 58 Low.

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